Being a Slytherin
by TheGirlFromThere
Summary: Riley Potter, Harry's older sister, is sorted into Slytherin. An obvious mistake since Potters don't belong in Slytherin. Struggling with this new identity, she'll learn that in life, things are not simply black and white and there is so much about herself that she doesn't know. Follow her time in Hogwarts where she'll learn what's the real meaning of being a Slytherin. OC/FW OC/MF
1. Prologue

**Prologue: 2001 - Three Years After the Second Wizarding War**

Riley sat on the cold sand and whatched her three years old daughter play with the water. It was so peaceful, so calm that it was almost disconcerting. After everything she had been through, everything she had lost, this perfect life seemed so unreal.

"Mommy, mommy, shell!"

But she felt happy.

"It's beautiful, darling" she said pulling her jacket closer to her body "It's getting cold, we should get inside."

"No!" the little girl protested.

"If you don't come now, you will get sick and then we won't be coming tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, or the day after after tomorrow…"

"Ok…" said the little girl approaching her mother slowly. Riley took her daughter in her arms and walked towards her house.

"Plus we have to go to see uncle Harry." She smiled, "Let's put some warmer clothes on."

Riley entered her house and went to her bedroom. She glanced at the bed and saw her husband sleeping next to their nine-month son, they both looked so innocent. She sat quietly on the edge of the bed with her daughter on her lap. The little girl started to touch clumsily her father's face making two eyes slowly open and stare at her.

"I thought I said to get ready, both of you." Riley said softly smiling at her husband.

"Yeah, but then your son decided to sleep, and since he's the one making the rules in this house, I played along" he grinned a her.

"Nice try, I'll give you 10 minutes, now go!" He grumbled and took the small baby leading him away from their bedroom. Riley giggled watching him leave.

"Now Jamie, your turn" she took her daughter's hand and lead her to the little one's bedroom. Once she finished dressing her daughter, she let her there playing with her toys and went back to her bedroom to change her own clothes that were covered with sand. She put on a beautiful red dress that fit her body perfectly, it was a gift from her husband.

"You look so perfect in red." She turned her head and saw her husband leaning against the door. She smiled at him. He approached her and hold her against his body, "I'm afraid we will have to cancel with your brother."

He pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss.

"Even though it's very tempting, I can't. Now let's find the kids and apparate."

"It's your fault, dressing up like this." He sighed, "I'll have to keep you up all night." He kissed her one more time.

Yes, she was happy after all.

 ** _FIN_**

* * *

A/N: Yes, I started my story with the last chapter, the next one will be the first


	2. Chapter 1: A lion in Slytherin

**Chapter 1: A lion in Slytherin**

The King's Cross station was crowded, busy businessmen carrying a briefcase were walking fast through the station, families with sunburns were coming back from their holidays, tourists were looking at a map, trying to figure out where to go next. Everything seemed normal, everything except for two lone figures who didn't blend into the background.

"So… Nervous?" Asked a man wearing a shabby set of wizard's robes.

"I'm fine." Said an eleven years old girl with long auburn hair and big green eyes.

"Listen, I just want you to know that... Well, it doesn't matter what house you'll be sorted in, ok?"

They both walked through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"Why are you being so dramatic over it?"

"I… I don't know, nevermind." The man chuckled and pulled a train ticket out of his pocket "All right miss, don't forget to write."

"I won't." The girl smiled before getting inside the train.

Riley managed to find an empty compartment. She sat down and started to read her book about Astronomy, she loved everything about space, but mostly its hugeness.

"Is this place taken?" a boy with dark ash-blonde hair opened the compartment door and looked at the only girl sitting in there. The girl gave the three empty places a quick glance before turning her head back to him.

"I should hope not. I mean... Either that or I'm sitting with ghosts."

The boy raised an eyebrow "You know that we can actually see ghosts, right?"

"Yeah, I know. You can sit." Riley answered a little uncomfortable, cursing herself for even trying to make a joke, this is what you get for trying to be funny. The boy hesitated for a little moment, and then decided to sit in front of her, but he kept looking at her with a frown.

"What?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Are you a muggleborn?" he asked faintly after a few seconds of hesitation.

"No" Riley was starting to dislike this boy. She should have told him she was waiting for friends. Remus had warned her about people like him, people who hated muggles. He said that some people had prejudice not only against muggles, but also against muggleborns. She didn't spend much time around muggles to have a genuine opinion about them, but she doubted that they were that bad.

"Cool" he seemed to relax a little bit "So, my name's Adrian Pucey. What's yours?

"Riley." She answered dryly without removing her eyes from her book.

"Just Riley?" Adrian asked in an amused tone, while putting a pumpkin pasty into his mouth.

"Riley Potter," her answer made Adrian choke "Are you okay?"

"Yes…" He said difficultly, "I just ne-eed to…"

"Here" Riley handed him a bottle of water, he took a sip.

"Thanks" At this moment two red-headed boys opened the compartment door. Riley noticed they were very alike, even if one of them had shorter hair. One was wearing a brown pullover with a "F" on it and the other one with a "G".

"Hello, hmm… We need a place to sit, we kind of… Well, we aren't welcomed anymore in our compartment."

"Why not?"

"We dropped a dungbomb in there" the other one responded "So can we sit here with you?"

"Are you goin' to drop a dungbomb in here?" Riley asked.

"We ran out of those."

"Then make yourselves at home." The two boys sat down.

"We're Frorge."

"Frorge?" Riley asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm George, he's Fred, we're Frorge, that's our thing!"

"Oh right, never would've guessed that." Riley giggled, Adrian rolled his eyes at the pair "I'm Riley, he's Adrian… That's it, we don't have a thing." The twins chuckled making her relax, finally someone that could get a joke, she also noticed that Adrian smiled slightly.

"What about you, what's your name?" The boy named Fred asked. It was clear that his question was only directed to Riley.

"Riley Potter" she answered quickly. Their mouths fell open.

"Potter? Like in Harry Potter" this time it was the boy named George who asked.

Riley forced a smile and nodded. She wondered if it was going to be like this, every time she would say the name "Potter".

"He's my brother" she finally answered.

"No way, so how's he?" Fred asked. Adrian was also looking at her with curiousity.

"I wouldn't know" Riley replied sadly "Haven't seen him in a while."

"How so?"

"We don't live together, after my parents were murdered, he went to live with my mom's sister and her husband, and I went to live with my godfather, haven't seen him since… To be honest I don't even know if he knows I exist."

"That's… odd." Fred said.

"What about you two?" Riley asked, quickly changing the subject, before they could ask another question she didn't know the answer. She felt a bit ashamed that she knew so little about her own brother. He was a stranger to her as much as to them. "Must be nice having a twin."

Fred chuckled, "yes, that's pretty cool, but we also have five other siblings. Bill's already off school, but Charlie is Gryffindor Quidditch Captain" he said proudly, "the other one is Percy, he's less fun… The other two are younger than us."

Riley was still incredulous "That's… That's a lot of people." Adrian snickered silently.

"Yeah, but at least we never get bored." Fred smiled at her. "So what house do you want to be sorted in?"

"I don't know, both my parents were Gryffindors" said Riley.

"All our family's been in Gryffindor as well" Fred commented.

"What about you Adrian?" Asked Riley.

"Slytherin" snapped Adrian making the twins frown their faces.

"Sorry about that mate" Fred said. Adrian gave him a glare, but Fred was too busy looking at the witch in front of him to notice.

"Hope you'll be in Gryffindor, it's the best house."

Riley gave him a soft smile before turning her attention back to her book. The twins started to talk about the different pranks they were going to do in Hogwarts. Adrian stayed silent the whole time, looking through the window, but at times he turned his head towards the girl in front of him and thought to himself that he had never seen such beautiful eyes.

* * *

When they arrived it was raining, they all followed a very large and tall man named Hagrid. Riley was impressed by his size, but this was magical school after all. They arrived at the castle wet, it wasn't a very good weather to take boats. After a few minutes a woman with a rigorous face and a pointed hat stood in front of them. She dried them with some spell and presented herself very briefly before telling that she would lead them to the Great Hall, where all the other students were waiting, so they could be sorted into the different houses.

Riley looked everywhere with admiration when they entered the Great Hall, the enchanted ceiling, the different tables dressed in different colours, it was really… how could she put it… Magical. But what most caught Riley's attention was a singing hat. It made her giggle. After the hat finished singing, Professor McGonagall started to call the names of the first years.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Anderson Mary" A shy little girl with plump cheeks put on the hat.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the sorting hat. Riley heard some girls giggle behind her.

"Avery, Cora!" Called Professor McGonagall, and a girl walked past Riley, she had long, straight, blonde hair and a mischievous grin on her face, she was pretty. Riley reckoned that she was one of the girls who were giggling. Cora put on the hat and puffed out her chest, as if this was the most important moment of the entire night. But it didn't last long.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted. Cora proudly joined her housemates' table.

"Burke, Emily!" this girl was also behind Riley, she had curly, brown hair and hazel eyes. She sat on the stool and put on the hat. The hat remained on her head for several seconds before finally shouting "SLYTHERIN". Riley did not know why, but those girls were really starting to annoy her.

"Davies, Roger!"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Diggory, Cedric!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

And it kept on going, "Johnson, Angelina", she became a Gryffindor, and so did "Jordan, Lee".

"Lloyd, Andrew!" A fat boy with a hamster face started to walk clumsily forward and almost fell over when he reached the stool. A burst of laughter came from the Slytherin table. Riley wanted to laugh too, but watching the boy struggle to sit down made her heart race, what if it happens to her too? So she decided to contain herself. "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Montague, Graham!" He became a Slytherin, "O'Connell, Laurel!" She became a Ravenclaw.

"Potter, Riley!" Riley felt her heart stir when she heard her name, she could also hear whispers coming from all four tables. Why were people whispering about her? She didn't do anything to deserve it, her brother did. She walked forward the stool, when she glanced at the professors' table she saw a pair of dark eyes staring at her with a glint of curiosity.

"Hmm… A hard choice I have here, what house will be the most fit for you? You certainly have the bravery to be a Gryffindor, the intelligence to fit just fine in Ravenclaw, but I can feel something stronger inside you… Yes, I know where I'll put you… SLYTHERIN!"

The word came as a shock to her, she knew that it was a possibility, but in her mind she would be in Gryffindor, this is where Potters belong, right? She remembered what Remus told her in King's Cross, did he expect that somehow? Still feeling confused she walked towards the Slytherin table forcing a smile, she could hear applauses from her housemates, she glanced at the dark-eyed professor, he wasn't clapping. Then she sat down and turned her head to watch the few first years who remained there. She noticed that Fred wasn't smiling, he wasn't looking at her either.

"Pucey, Adrian!" Adrian sat on the stool and it didn't take long to the hat to shout "SLYTHERIN!". The boy walked towards the Slytherin table with a big smile on his face and sat down next to Riley.

"It seems that we're in the same house." He smiled at her.

"Yes" she simply said.

The two girls, Alicia Spinnet and Patricia Stimpson became Gryffindors. Kenneth Towler became a Ravenclaw. Elizabeth Thompson and Cassius Warrington became Slytherins.

"Weasley, Fred!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Weasley, George!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Riley heard one of her housemates' comment, "Another Weasley? Damn, they reproduce like bunnies" a burst of laughter came from the table. Riley turned her head to see who said this and saw a large boy with dark hair and grey eyes, he had a smug grin on his face, a grin that made Riley despise him. "At least, they're all in Gryffindor and not contaminating the other houses" she heard more laughter.

"Well, I heard there are more of them, so… don't speak too soon" a girl with long dark hair and tanned skin said. The boy deepened his grin.

"Don't worry Sarah, you can bet that if one of them is sorted in Slytherin, he won't last a week".

Riley looked at Fred who was laughing with some Gryffindors, she wanted to be there with them, she wanted to laugh instead of insulting people. She wanted to tell her housemates to shut up, to tell them that the two boys were nice, nicer than all of them put together. But she couldn't, instead she dropped her eyes. It couldn't be right, she couldn't possibly be a Slytherin, she thought that she was the one who wasn't going to last a week.

Professor Dumbledore said some weird words that didn't make sense at all, and then a vast variety of food appeared in front of them. Riley put some boiled potatoes and some pork chops on her plate.

"Potter, huh? So are you related with that ickle baby that everyone seems to be so fond of?" Riley looked at the blonde girl in front of her and frowned. This grabbed the attention of some Slytherins next to them.

"Excuse me?" Riley snapped.

"I mean don't get me wrong, but the boy just got lucky, that's all," the two girls sitting next to Cora Avery nodded quickly, "I think that he's not all that!" Some of her housemates snickered slightly.

"I think that _you_ are not all that" Riley grumbled making other Slytherins snicker. Cora flashed a dark glance at Riley but then forced a smile.

"So if I remember correctly, your mom was a mudblood, wasn't she?" Riley felt her blood boil. "I think that the sorting hat got confused, I mean it's so old and dirty, I really think that Dumbledore should get rid of it and get a new one, but well, the old man is not better." The boy named Montague laughed at this.

"There are plenty of half-bloods in Slytherin!" Adrian stated, which kind of surprised Riley.

"Of course you would know" Cora gave him a twisted smile.

"I'm a pureblood" he snapped.

"Are you?" Cora mocked him "Not really a good one, though." The two girls beside her started laughing.

"Let it go Adrian" Riley said to him "Some things are just not worth it."

"She learns fast the little _potty_ girl." Avery teased.

"Yeah, unlike you" mumbled Riley.

Adrian and Riley finished their dinner silent, while Cora Avery was bragging to her girlfriends about her summer. When they finished dessert, Professor Dumbledore made they sing the school song. Riley noticed that almost none of the Slytherins sang along with the others.

"Every year, the same stupid song" Riley heard the same boy who mocked Fred and George. Cora laughed at his words, the boy looked at her with a confused expression, and Cora gave him a smile. He looked back at his friend who was cackling. Riley was well positioned to hear what his friend was saying even if he was whispering.

"Marcus Flint, stealing little girls' hearts since 1989" he chuckled "but you know if I were you, I'd look for someone with more… I don't know… tits" he chuckled putting his arm around the girl named Sarah and kissing her.

"Shut up" Marcus snapped giving his friend a dark glare.

Riley turned her attention to Cora who was whispering with her friends, and didn't seem to have heard their conversation.

"I was told that he's in the Slytherin Quidditch team, and that he's favourite to be captain next year."

"But he's too old for you," the girl named Elizabeth insisted.

"So what Liz? It's even better," Cora retorted, "you know how purebloods are supposed to go out with only purebloods, it's perfect." Riley could see that Elizabeth wasn't convinced, but she didn't dare to say anything, she was probably afraid that she might lose her "friendship" with Cora.

"Girls are really pathetic…" Adrian commented making Riley look at him, "Er… Sorry I didn't mean to… I didn't want to… Well, you know it's just that…" but Riley burst into laughter.

"Right?" she giggled.

Adrian smiled at her, "I didn't mean you!"

"No problem."

They both got up and followed the Slytherin Prefects to the dungeons.

"So, do you like quidditch?" Adrian asked Riley.

"Love it! Want to try out for the team, too bad they don't take first years. I don't see what difference does it make, I mean, I play since I can walk, what's one year?"

"Yeah, well… we can try out together next year"

"I'd like that" she said before leaving to the girl's dorm. When she arrived there, she saw Cora and her cronies, Elizabeth Thompson and Ava Nott.

"Just my luck" she muttered to herself.

"Please take the bed opposite to ours, we don't want to get contaminated." Cora said dramatically.

Riley rolled her eyes, it was not like she had a choice anyway, all the other beds were already taken. She noticed the fifty girl with curly hair and hazel eyes, Riley gave her a soft smile, the girl hesitated but then smiled back at Riley. What was her name again?

"Emily! What in Merlin's name is that? If you want to be in our crew, you can't wear these horrific pyjamas!" The other girls giggled. Emily's cheek turned red and she quickly searched for something else to wear. Riley sighed, this was going to be a long year.

* * *

 _Riley was in a dark cold place, but she couldn't say where, she looked around and saw graves everywhere, she couldn't see the end of it._

 _She started running to get away from this place, but it was endless._

 _She stopped when she heard a baby crying behind her, she turned around to see the baby, but jumped when she saw that it wasn't a baby but a little creature there, it stopped crying and started laughing at her. A cold and evil laugh. The creature started to grow, and she saw a pair of red eyes stare and point a finger at her, "You're next!"._

Riley woke up suddenly, she looked around as if she was still in the cemetery but only saw other four beds around her. She got up and went to the common room. She sat in front of the fireplace and started to think about her dream. It wasn't unusual, those nightmares, but the odd thing was that she had had specifically three different nightmares that were always coming back. She couldn't understand why, sometimes new fragments would appear, but it was still the same dream. She had talked to Remus about this and even if he had admitted that it was indeed odd, he had no explanation. Riley didn't want to go back to bed, fearing that she would dream of this again. So she stood there, staring at the fireplace.

"Miss Potter", a voice came from behind her "what are you doing here?" She turned her head and saw the same Professor who was staring at her at dinner.

"I… I couldn't sleep" she said making him raise an eyebrow.

"Then, go back to your bed and try harder." he said a little more coldly.

"I don't want to."

"And why not?" he asked, clearly losing his patience.

"I…" Riley hesitated for a moment. Should she tell him? She didn't know him, but he was her Professor and also head of the Slytherin House. "I had a nightmare, it's always the same nightmare, along with other two I mean" he looked confused "I have those recurring dreams, or nightmares, three different ones." She hoped that she had been more clear, she felt a little stupid after her words came from her mouth.

"I see." It was all he said for a moment, before adding. "Come with me." He left for his office, Riley stood up and followed him. When she entered his office she saw a vast variety of ingredients and potions on some shelves. He took one little vial and gave it to her.

"Here, take this, it will help you sleep." She looked at him confused, but then took the vial and drank it. "You can go now." She thanked him and left, when she was by the office door she heard him say.

"Welcome to Slytherin, Miss Potter" and with that she went back to her dorm and had a dreamless night.


	3. Chapter 2: The choices we make

**Chapter 2: The Choices We Make**

The next day, Riley woke up feeling fully rested. That potion she took was really miraculous. She glanced at her nightstand and saw her timetable that had magically appeared over the night. She had double Transfiguration in the morning with Hufflepuff and double Potions in the afternoon with Gryffindor. Her roommates weren't in the dorm, so the first thing she did that morning was to take her necklace with a snitch pendant from her box covered in shells. Both objects belonged to her mother, the necklace being a gift from her father. Riley kept inside the box, some small objects and photos of her family. She hid the box under her bed and put her necklace and uniform on before heading to the Great Hall to have some breakfast.

The Great Hall was already crowded and very noisy when she got there, students were chatting loudly, laughing, and eating. Riley approached the Slytherin table and spotted Adrian speaking with a boy named Graham Montague. When Adrian saw Riley, he made her a sign to join them. Riley smiled at him and sat down. She looked at Montague but he didn't greet her; Instead he stared at her with a cold and penetrating gaze making Riley frown.

"Riley this is Graham Montague, he's one of my roommates. Graham this is Riley Potter, she's my friend." Adrian didn't seem to notice the tense atmosphere between the two of them. At first she hadn't intended to be friends with someone like Adrian, but she concluded that he wasn't that bad after all -for a Slytherin at least - and given the circumstances she wasn't going to be difficult.

"Anyway, as I was saying transfiguration seems hard. But I'm really looking forward Thursday, we have fly lessons" he continued, while Riley put some eggs on her plate.

"Well don't get too excited. We'll probably just stand there while waiting for all the mudbloods to understand the real use of a broom." Montague said without removing his eyes from Riley. She clenched her jaw together, but Adrian just giggled.

"Maybe they'll just separate those who know how to fly from those who don't..." Riley snapped.

"Yeah, maybe." He simply said, returning his gaze to his plate. He excused himself to Adrian and went to sit with another group of Slytherins, some of them, Riley noticed, were in the Quidditch team. She recognized the boy from the night before, Marcus Flint, along with two others she didn't know, and a seventh year who was captain of the team, Baxter Langley. He had probably left because of her, but Adrian didn't seem to mind being alone with just Riley.

"He's friends with some of the players, you know…" Adrian commented between bites. "Wouldn't hurt if he could put on a good word for us." He said enthusiastically. Riley nodded weakly, her expression suddenly sad. There is no way she was going to make the team like that.

Riley waited for Adrian to finish his breakfast, and they both went to the transfiguration classroom. When they arrived there, Riley saw Cora Avery with Ava Nott, Elizabeth Thompson and Emily Burke around two Hufflepuff girls. Everyone was staring at them.

"I'm just saying that if I had a face like a pig, I wouldn't put a pink headband on my head..." Riley heard the high-pitched and annoying voice of Cora Avery. The Hufflepuff girl wearing the pink headband flushed and lowered her head.

"Leave her alone, Avery!" The other Hufflepuff girl stood up for her friend.

"Oh, but I'm just trying to help her, I mean, I reckon it's hard enough not being a real witch, not to mention being a Hufflepuff, and that nose of hers, and she wears pink?" She sighed theatrically. The other Slytherin girls giggled. Emily was torn, she didn't know whether she should laugh. Riley glanced at Adrian and he wasn't laughing either, he looked bored.

"That's enough, Avery! First of all, she _is_ a real witch, secondly, there's nothing wrong on being a Hufflepuff, and thirdly, you can talk with your layers of makeup, you're only eleven! Are you that ugly that you need to cover up your face with that much of makeup?" The other Hufflepuff said. Cora's face turned red, she pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it to the girl's face.

"You're going to regret this! _Locomotor Mortis_!" The girl's legs were bound together making her fall onto the floor. It was kind of surprising that a first year was able to catch spells that would actually work. It wasn't probably the first time that Cora jinxed someone.

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall was standing by the door, with a horrified expression on her face, "who is responsible for this?" All the girls started to talk at the same time, Cora's friends were saying that the Hufflepuff girl tried to jinx Cora, but the spell went wrong whereas the Hufflepuff girl was saying that Cora did it while the pink headband girl was nodding nervously.

"SILENCE!" shouted McGonagall, she looked around the classroom "Miss Potter, could you please explain to me what happened? I think there is no need to remind you that you should be impartial, and not take sides". Riley hesitated for a moment, should she tell the truth and take the risk of paying for this sooner or later?

"Cora did this, Professor!" she finally said, if she let Cora get away with bullying, she was not one to complain when she was the one being bullied.

"Very well, Miss Avery, you will be serving detention with me every night during this week!" She exclaimed while performing the countercurse. "Now I want everyone to sit down and open your books at page 37."

Cora gave Riley a death glare before sitting down. Riley felt her stomach turn, did she make the right choice or did she just start a war she didn't know if she could win? She sat down next to Adrian.

"Do you think I made the right choice?" She asked Adrian.

"Who cares?" He snickered. That was the thing about Slytherins, they were surely unpredictable.

* * *

After lunch, Adrian and Riley were heading to the dungeons for Potions class, when Riley suddenly realised that she had forgotten her set of brass scales in her dorm and went to get them. By the time she arrived in the classroom, Professor Snape was already in there, talking and writing something on the board, she sat discreetly in the back of the class. He didn't seem to notice she was late. She looked around and saw Adrian sitting next to Cora, she made a face.

"...Prepared incorrectly the Cure for Boils potion may cause more boils, rather than cure them. So how can we know if the potion was made successfully? Maybe we should ask Miss Potter who had the kindness of joining us here for class after all." Everyone was staring at her. Cora allowed herself a smug grin.

"Hmm... Pink smoke raising the cauldron" she stammered softly.

"A little bit louder Miss Potter."

"There will be pink smoke raising from the cauldron." She answered more confidently.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Five points for Slytherin. You can start to prepare your potion, you'll work in pairs with the person sitting next to you, you have two hours."

"That was impressive!" Someone whispered next to her, she turned her head to see who it was, and saw a red-haired boy "Are you some kind of know-it-all? Did you memorised the whole book before coming?"

"No, the answer was just written on the book." She pointed at the sentence in her book.

"Oh, that's right," he giggled making her smile slightly at him. "Do you remember who I am?"

"Frorge." She answered making him howl with laughter.

"Mister Weasley, laugther is not a side effect of this potion, so control yourself. Five points from Gryffindor!" snapped Professor Snape.

"Well today I'm just Fred," he whispered. She smiled slightly at him while adding six snake fangs to the mortar. "You're in Slytherin, then?"

"Apparently" she confirmed faintly. She was now crushing the snake fangs into a fine powder. "Are you going to help me?"

"Yes sorry." He said, and then he started to slice the Pungous Onions. "Too bad, we would have great fun together." Riley added the powder to the cauldron and heated the mixture while waving her wand.

"I thought you already had an accomplice."

"Yeah well, you're prettier than my brother." Riley raised an eyebrow, didn't he realise that he was implicitly insulting himself? He looked at her, probably guessing what she was thinking "I'm better-looking than my brother too." She giggled.

"Mister Weasley, you have to cut it in thin slices. Or can't you read?" Professor Snape was now in front of them. He looked at Riley next and she was expecting a nasty comment about her way of brewing the potion. But he just nodded at her, "five points for Slytherin."

"I hate him! You could explode the cauldron he would still give your house points!" Fred said angry, after Snape left.

"Well, you _do_ have to cut it thinner." She smiled at him.

Fred grumbled and started over. Riley assumed they did a good work when she saw a pink smoke raising from the cauldron.

When the class was over, Professor Snape spoke, "Before you leave the class, I want you to fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it with your name, and bring it up to my desk." Riley did as she was told and put the flagon on his desk. She was about to leave when she heard his voice, "Miss Potter, a word please." She came back to his desk, and stood there, Snape waited until there was no more students in the class and turned his head to her.

"I don't like when my students are late."

"Sorry..."

"And you really thought I wouldn't notice?"

"I just didn't want to disturb" he raised an eyebrow at this.

"Don't be late next time, you can go know," and he lowered his head to read a piece of parchment on his desk, but Riley didn't move, instead she stood there staring awkwardly at him. "Yes Miss Potter?" He raised his black eyes back at her.

"I was just wondering Professor. Can you give me another vial… Of that potion?" He frowned at her.

"Miss Potter your problems are far from being resolved with simple potions, besides it wouldn't be correct to give my students potions with no authorization." He said.

"But…"

"You can go now Miss Potter."

"But..."

"Miss Potter I'm a very busy person, so I'd really advise you not to waste my time, now go."

It was her time to frown her face, "Fine!" She snapped and left the classroom angry, what is his problem? Who was he to judge whether she needed that potion? Aren't Professors supposed to help their students? When she passed through the door she saw Adrian waiting for her.

"Hey, what did Snape want with you?" he asked.

"He scolded me for being late."

"Ah, sorry you had to pair up with that Weasley boy. Avery just sat next to me, I don't know why." He said, stroking the back of his head.

"It's fine, and Fred's cool, more than Avery anyway." She said coolly.

"Yeah… hey since we don't have any more classes do you want to go to the Quidditch pitch and try to borrow some brooms?"

"Yes sure, but first I need to change," seeing his confused look, she continued "I'm wearing a skirt."

"Ah yeah of course." He flushed.

"I'll catch you there."

* * *

In the Sytherin common room she saw Cora with some Slytherins around a table laughing at something. She didn't pay attention to it and headed to the girls' dorm, but before she could go downstairs she heard Cora's voice.

"I'm so sorry Riley, I didn't know you lived in such poverty" she said in the meanest tone she could muster. Riley froze, when she looked back at Cora she saw that she was holding a photograph of her with Remus, she glanced at the table and saw her shell box opened there. All the students in the common room were watching them. "Now I understand better your manners, you _poor_ thing, if you want I can give you some of my old clothes, oh you're right maybe it won't fit because, well," she looked up and down at Riley, "my clothes don't stretch". Cora's friends started to laugh. Riley narrowed her eyes, Cora wasn't skinner than her. She decided to ignore her comment.

"Give it back to me!" She howled.

"Why? Are you going to tell on me? Again?"

Riley didn't answered, instead she walked towards Cora and took the photo with an unnecessarily aggressiveness, and put it back inside the box. When she passed through Cora, she tripped Riley making her fall onto the ground.

Almost everyone burst into laughter. Riley felt her cheeks burn with humiliation, she grabbed her box, and ran away from the common room holding her tears. She ran the whole way to the Quidditch pitch. When she got there she saw Adrian with some other Slytherins. She stepped back, she didn't want any of them to see her cry. She went to a locker room that was oddly opened and tried to calm herself down. She wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"What the hell are you doing here? Did Baxter Langley send you here to spy?" She heard a voice coming from behind her, she turned her head startled and saw a ginger boy she didn't recognize, standing there with a broomstick on his shoulder. "Are you crying?" he asked a little uncomfortable.

"No..." She lied, sniffing and wiping away her tears. "It's just some allergy." To her surprise, he laughed.

"Okay then, I don't know what _the allergy_ did to you but if you want my advice, just tell it to shove it." Still laughing he went to his locker and opened it taking some gloves from inside.

"Easy said than done" she whispered, not intending him to hear it, but he did. He looked back at her.

"Someone's giving you a hard time?" He asked casually.

Riley closed her eyes, she wanted to scream yes, she was so sick of being a Slytherin, so sick of those pretentious, snobby gits. She wanted to be a Gryffindor, a brave lion, not a despicable snake. She wanted to have real friends, she wanted her parents to be proud of her. This wasn't right.

But instead, she just said, "I'm fine."

"People don't cry for no reason."

"Maybe there is a reason, maybe I just don't want to talk about it."

"Ok then," he shrugged, "but you can't stay in here. Let's go!"

The boy leaded her to the exit, she remembered Fred saying that his brother was Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She wondered if it was him.

"Are you Fred and George's brother?"

He furrowed his brow, "Yes, I'm Charlie Weasley. That's why you were crying? Did my brothers do something to you?" he asked worried.

"What? No, no they're great." She simply answered.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Charlie Weasley exclaimed. Riley followed his gaze and saw three Slytherins circling two smaller Gryffindors on the pitch. She recognized the two beaters of the Quidditch team, Bole and Derrick along with Marcus Flint. Behind them, stood a group of Slytherins watching the scene. "What do you think you are doing?" Charlie shouted at them. Flint glanced at him.

"You are not playing today! We were here first!" he said nastily. Riley approached Adrian who was with the group of Slytherins.

"Practices hasn't started yet Flint! You should know that, you can't book the pitch!"

"Oh but I know, I didn't say we booked the pitch, I said we were here first" he was now face to face with Charlie, giving the Gryffindor a menacing glare. Even though he was only a fourth year, he was bigger than Charlie.

"And?" Charlie asked folding his arms, he didn't look afraid, or at least, he hid it very well.

"And I'd advise you to take your wanker little players, and get the fuck out of here!" he said, his temper rising. "Before I make you."

"Let it go Charlie," one of the two Gryffindors said, grabbing Charlie's sleeve. "We'll beat them anyway, we always do!" Then, Marcus gave the boy a push making him stumble.

"Not if the keeper accidentally smashes his head!" he grinned. All the Slytherins but Riley, shrieked with laughter. Charlie pointed his wand to Flint's face. "Do it, and they'll lose their Seeker too!" he said in a husky voice.

Charlie lowered his hand "It's not worth getting detention over. Let's go." He said to the other two. When they were out of sight, Marcus Flint went back to his friends and sat down with them. Riley grimaced at him.

"He's not flying?!" Riley asked in an undertone, so that only Adrian could hear. Adrian just shrugged in response.

"Didn't you say you would get changed?" He asked looking at her skirt.

"I... I changed my mind, I'm feeling a little tired." Riley lied, she wasn't going to tell him what had just happened in their common room. He looked disappointed. "But you go, if you want to, I'll watch" she smiled at him. He smiled back at her and grabbed a school broom, soaring into the skies. Riley went to sit on the stand, only a few feet away from where Marcus Flint and his friends were.

"You're not flying at all?" His friend asked putting his arm around his girlfriend, Sarah Selwyn. They were the same friends who were with him the previous day. There was also a blonde girl, who was polishing her nails and a boy who was lying with his hood on his head.

"Nah, you know me Jason, just wanted to scare the hell out of those Gryffindors" Flint snickered.

"You're terrible Marcus" Sarah said giggling, "I heard that Charlie Weasley is dating that Hufflepuff, Claire Ackers. And I think that even a slag like her could do better than a Weasley." She kissed Jason.

"She's not the only slag I know." The blonde girl said receiving a glare from Sarah. But the boys were not paying attention on them.

"That blond boy isn't bad" Jason commented looking at Adrian. "I mean for a first year." Riley smiled.

"I suppose" Flint agreed. "Next year half of the team will be out of school. It's going to be a hard year for me as the Captain."

"Well, at least, you'll be able to choose your own players."

Riley put her hair behind her ear so she could hear better what they were saying, but they stopped talking about Quidditch. Riley sighed and let her mind wander, she thought about Cora, about Montague, about the others, always waiting for you to lower your guard so they could spit their poison on you, like the snakes they were. She wouldn't survive in Slytherin. At least not like this. She had to do something, she had to earn their respect. But did that mean she should act like them? She was lost, she didn't know what to do.

* * *

The next days passed without any incident, Riley was trying her best to avoid Cora, it was really exhausting but she still didn't know how to handle things. The only time they were next to each other was in their dorm. Cora would glance at Riley sometimes and then whisper probably some nasty things about her to her friends.

On Thursday, Riley and Adrian ate their lunch very fast, hurrying for the first time, to the next class. Flying. It was a sunny day but very windy. As Riley watched the other girls struggle with their hair, she smiled to herself, her choice of a tight braid was just the first hint on how she was made for this.

Madame Hooch, arrived, "Everyone stand by a broomstick, and no miss Nott, this class isn't elective" Riley was already next to a broomstick. "Hurry up, everyone! Now, I want you to stick out your right hand over your broom, and say 'Up!"

"Up!" all the first years shouted. Riley's broom was immediately in her hand. She looked around and saw that Adrian, Fred, George and other students were also holding their brooms. She was glad to see that Montague's broom was rolling around the grass.

Once everyone had managed to grab their brooms, Madam Hooch showed them the right way to mount it. She spent an amount of time correcting Cora who was decided to mount her broom the same way she would mount a horse.

"Miss Avery, you will slip off your broom!"

Madam Hooch glanced at Riley and nodded silent approval. It was the first time she felt truly happy since she arrived at Hogwarts.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two - one."

And there she was, in the air, it tasted almost like freedom. It felt really good. It was almost as if she was flying away from her problems, she always felt lighter after flying.

Madam Hooch was busy trying to help Ava Nott who was flying in circles screaming. Cora was already back on the ground and had dropped her broom. The twins were flying around and playing with a twig throwing it at each other. Riley attempted a loop. She saw that some students gazed at her with admiration. It wasn't really difficult but she wasn't the one telling them that.

"Do you think this is somehow impressive?" Montague put himself in front of her.

"More than anything you can do, I bet" she said grinning.

"Well, that's not how you are going to make the team" she stopped grinning, "Adrian told me that both of you wanted to join the team. Don't worry, I told them everything they should know about you. They are my friends you know, or maybe you don't, after all you don't belong to the same social circle than us." He said smugly.

That was it, her brief moment of happiness, spoiled.

* * *

The end of the week had finally come and Riley was glad she had her Friday afternoon off. Adrian was playing a game of explosing snaps with Montague, and she didn't want to waste any of her free time with that boy, so she was walking by the lake alone. She spotted Fred and George with another boy with dreadlocks and approached them.

"...Next potion class then?" George asked.

"Yes, Snape won't even see it coming" the three of them laughed.

"See what coming?" Asked Riley making them startle.

"Oh hey Riley, how you doin' Bright Eyes?" Fred asked.

Riley raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "What are you boys up to?"

"Nothing!" the boy with dreadlocks answered dryly. Riley looked at him and then at Fred.

"We will make some Slytherins' cauldrons explode." Fred said with a big smile on his face.

"Why are you telling her this? She is a Slytherin, she'll tell Snape" the boy with dreadlocks hissed.

"Oh right, that's true" Fred said, still smiling "Are you telling on us Riley?" He asked, amused.

Riley grinned. "Well... I can keep a secret, as long as I'm not one of your targets."

"Of course not!" Fred said.

"Or Adrian Pucey." Fred remained silent, "Fred?"

"All right, all right" he finally answered. George seemed pleased with this exchange. He looked at his brother.

" _Is there anything you wouldn't do for her?"_ George whispered romantically. Fred punched his brother's arm making him laugh. But Riley wasn't listening anymore, her gaze was trained elsewhere. Fred noticed and looked where she was looking. He saw a blonde Slytherin girl giving her books to another Slytherin with curly hair.

"Is she also a friend of yours?" Fred asked.

"Nooo, far from it" she answered.

"A target them?" he asked smugly, she smiled in response, "You only have to say the word."

Riley thought for a moment, it would be nice to see Cora's cauldron explode. She simply shrugged "She _is_ awful. So how are you planning on doing this?"

"With some explosive gumball."

* * *

That evening, the Slyhterin common room was full with students. Riley browsed at the leather couches and saw the Quidditch team there chatting and laughing loudly. She also saw Cora, sitting on an armchair talking to Derrick, one of the beaters, probably because Marcus Flint wasn't there. Cora's two friends, Elizabeth Thompson and Ava Nott were sitting on the ground next to her.

Cora's attempts to flirt with the boy made Riley roll her eyes. She looked stupid flipping her hair excessively and forcing laughter. She looked at the round study table and saw Emily studying there. Riley spotted an empty seat and sat down. She opened her charms book and started to do her essay. Five minutes later, Emily stood up and walked towards Cora.

"Are you done yet?" Riley looked up and saw Cora talking to Emily.

"Yes, I finished your charms essay, can I sit with you now?"

"I don't know if you're ready..." Cora replied kindly making the other girls snicker.

"What else do I have to do?" Emily asked desperately.

"Well for starters you have to get rid of these clothes, they're really ugly, take them off" Cora challenged her.

"What?" Emily asked faintly.

"I said. Take. Them. Off." Emily turned her body towards the girls' dorm. "Where do you think you're going? I have no time to wait for you, if you want to stay here with us, take them off, here!" Derrick was grinning. Some Slytherins were looking at them.

Riley rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe she was about to say something, but she stood up, "Stop it Avery!" Cora looked at Riley.

"What? She can give it to you, even if they're ugly they are still better than the muggle clothes you wear, and I think you need all the help you can get." She said making some Slytherins laugh. Riley's nose was fuming, she looked at Emily and told her to leave. Emily hesitated for a moment but them she left to her dorm. Riley glared at Cora.

"You know, someday, you'll pay for everything you've done!"

"Ooh, I'm so scared, what are you going to do?" Cora mocked Riley.

Riley scowled, but then a grin appeared on her face. She had an idea.

"Me? Nothing." And with that she grabbed her things and went to finish her essay at the library.

* * *

It was a very rainy day, announcing the end of summer. Gryffindors and Slytherins were having potions class. Professor Snape wasn't in a very good mood.

"You are a real disappointment, the potions you made last time are useless. How can you call yourselves wizards if you aren't capable of brewing a simple Cure for Boils potion? Today you are going to do a Herbicide Potion, and you are working alone, I want to see what each of you are capable of. I'm sure some of you are overshadowing the others." He glanced at Fred.

"Who wants to distribute the ingredients?" Riley raised her hand.

"Very well, Miss Potter." She knew the twins were doing their prank today, and she was going to help them. She took some ingredients from the cupboard, and when no one was looking she exchanged the content of the Horklump juice with some shrinking solution. She distributed the different ingredients to everyone making sure to give Cora the altered Horklump juice.

She watched as Cora put the shrinking solution in her cauldron. Now all she had to do was wait for the twins to make their move. When Snape was too busy scolding some Gryffindor boy that had managed to melt his cauldron, she saw Fred and George Weasley grabbing their explosive gumballs and throwing them into some Slytherin's cauldrons. The potions exploded making the liquid jump outside of the cauldron to the students face. The herbicide potion wasn't dangerous for humans, so it didn't do anything to them. But Cora's face started to shrink, she cried out grabbing everyone's attention, a burst of laughter came from the students, even from the Slytherins. Cora's friends tried hard not to laugh, but they restrained themselves fearing the consequences of doing it.

"YOU TWO!" Snape yelled at the twins "THIS IS UNNACCETABLE, DANGERING THE LIFE OF A STUDENT, IF YOU WERE IN MY HOUSE YOU WOULD BE GOING HOME RIGHT AWAY! YOU BETTER PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR A YEAR OF DETENTION, NOW GET OUT OF MY CLASS!" The twins weren't laughing, they seemed confused, Fred glanced at Riley before leaving with a questioning look on his face, she only gave him an apologetically look in response. "Miss Potter, take miss Avery to the infirmary." She nodded calmly.

On their way to the infirmary, Cora didn't say anything, she was really hilarious with a tiny head, but Riley contained herself from laughing. When they arrived there, Madam Pomfrey widened her eyes.

"What happened to her?" She asked Riley.

Riley shrugged and said "Potions class." Madame Pomfrey nodded and sighed.

"You can go now, Miss Potter" and she disappeared to look for something to bring Cora's head back to normal size.

Riley looked at Cora before leaving and whispered, _"I told you were going to pay!"_ Cora's head was so small that Riley couldn't see her expression, so she left without waiting for a reply. She went back to the dungeons smiling to herself.

When the class ended and Riley was leaving the room with Adrian, she heard Fred's angry voice "RILEY? What the hell?"

Riley looked at Adrian and said "I'll catch you", he hesitated and glared at Fred.

"Are you sure?" He asked grabbing gently her arm.

"Yes, don't worry." She smiled at him, Adrian nodded and left to the Great Hall. Riley looked back at Fred. "What?" She asked innocently.

"What was that? What happened to Avery's head?"

"Look, this was your plan after all, I just... Changed it a little"

"In that case you should have asked us and not do whatever you want and make us responsible for almost killing someone!"

"It would never have killed her... It was just a shrinking potion, nothing more, relax."

"RELAX? HOW CAN YOU ASK ME TO RELAX?" he paused and sighed heavily "I hope you are going to tell Snape that you did this." Riley lowered her head. "RILEY?" he asked incredulous.

"I can't… I can't get expelled, you heard him. You're not a Slytherin, you're safe."

"You don't know that! McGonagall isn't a piece of cake either! You don't know what she will do!"

"Look, if it ever comes to that, I'll tell him, I promise. I never meant to hurt you." Her green eyes met his and he felt himself sliding one more time under her spell. He shocked his head.

"You know what, maybe I was wrong about you. I thought you were different, but apparently not…" He mumbled.

"Fred…"

"…You were just using me, weren't you? Typical Slytherin behaviour!"

"No Fred, please..." she begged.

"What Riley? What?" he sighed, "Don't speak to me again, ok? It will be better for both of us."

"I'm so sorry..." she whimpered.

"Goodbye Riley" Riley watched as he walked away from her. She stood there for a while thinking about what she had done. She didn't felt bad for Cora, but she never intended to hurt Fred. She wasn't hungry anymore, her stomach was turning into knots, so she he decided to go back to the common room.

She found the common room empty, as all the students were in the Great Hall eating. She sat on the leather black couch and stared at the fireplace, Remus would be really disappointed by her if he heard what happened.

"So are you the girl who almost killed someone today?" A voice brought her back to reality. She turned her head and saw a shirtless Marcus Flint coming from the boys' dorm. Riley flushed. He was holding his shirt.

"No I didn't... Wait a minute, why are you saying it was me?"

"The girl you attacked told Derrick" he shrugged. The girl you attacked? He didn't know Cora's name?

"Ok, first of all I didn't nearly kill her! And secondly, you can't believe anything she says."

"Well, you kind of just admitted you nearly killed her" he chuckled.

"I didn't... For the last time it wasn't going to kill her!" Riley was running out of patience but he just grinned at her. At that instant, Riley saw Sarah Selwyn also leaving the boys' dorm. Weird, she thought. Sarah gave Riley a suspicious look and turned to Marcus.

"Marcus, are you coming? I'm hungry."

"Yeah I'm coming." He said without taking his eyes from Riley. He put his shirt on. "And people say you are not a true Slytherin." He winked at her and left with the girl, Riley saw Sarah look over her shoulder and glance at her one more time before whispering something to Marcus.

" _What if she tells anyone?"_ but she couldn't hear Marcus's answer.

Riley frowned her face, all she wanted was to make Cora pay for all the things she had done, she was the mean one, not Riley. Why were people thinking otherwise? She wasn't mean, she wasn't. She cared for people, she cared for Remus, she cared for Lyall - Remus' father-, she cared for Harry, she cared for Adrian and now she realised she was starting to care about Fred as well. Riley sighed and went to take a bath, she needed to relax.

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter is overdramatic but it's important for the rest of the story.

 **EmilyHarmony** and **Aphrodite-Venus-u.k** thanks for reviewing I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

If you liked it don't forget to review to motivate me so I can update faster ;)


	4. Chapter 3: Trouble is a friend

**Chapter 3: Trouble is a friend**

Rumours had already spread among the students that Riley was responsible for Cora's incident. Some of the Slytherins were astonished, but treated her with more respect while others were outraged with her, for attacking one of them instead of other houses.

However, it seemed to have worked. Cora hadn't been a problem for her since that day. She was really expecting Cora to retaliate, but nothing came. Sometimes, Cora would give Riley a death glare, but nothing more than that. The only Slytherin who hadn't been impressed was Montague. He was always teasing Riley, saying that she still wasn't a true Slytherin. She didn't mind it anymore, though.

Fred, on the other hand, wasn't talking to her anymore. He ignored her, pretending they didn't know each other. Gryffindors were also acting cold towards her, avoiding her like they avoided the other Slytherins.

Saturday afternoon, she went to the Owlery to send a letter to Remus. She abstained herself from writing everything that had happened, it was hard enough telling him she was a Slytherin, let alone telling him she actually acted like one. When she got there, she saw a Hufflepuff girl struggling with an owl that was pecking her head. Her first reflex was to help the girl.

"Thanks…" the girl said "This owl has a real temper."

"I can see that." Riley giggled, noticing that the girl had blue highlights. "I like your hair."

"Oh, that" she chuckled, and suddenly her hair was no longer blue but yellow.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Riley asked amazed.

"I'm a Metamorphmagus."

"A met… what?"

"It means that I'm able to change my appearance." She answered changing her nose.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen! Do they teach that in Hogwarts?"

"Sorry kid, Metamorphmagus are born not made!"

"Oh…" Riley said a bit disappointed. She gave an owl her letter.

"Anyway, thanks again for helping me, if there is anything I can do for you." Riley just smiled in response. They both got back to the castle together. The girl told Riley her name was Nymphadora Tonks but she preferred being called Tonks. When they were in the corridor they bumped into Charlie Weasley and a sandy-haired girl.

"Charlie, Claire!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Hey Tonks, I was looking for you!" Claire said.

"Yeah well… I was attacked by an owl." Tonks replied making both Charlie and Claire laugh. "But this little girl here came to rescue me." She winked at Riley.

Charlie looked at Riley with a frown, making her flush softly. Fred probably told him what she did.

"Riley Potter, right?" Claire asked, smiling at her.

"Yes." She smiled slightly.

"I'm Claire Ackers and he's Charlie Weasley." She said giving him a passionate kiss.

"Yes, I know. We've met."

"Really?" She asked looking puzzled at Charlie. But he remained silent. "Did I lose something?"

"He's mad at me because his brother told him I was the reason why he got detention with Snape." She said coolly before turning towards Tonks. "See ya!"

She walked through the corridors angry, she didn't know if she was angry with Charlie or with herself. Well, she was a true Slytherin now. She managed to earn her place among her housemates, but at what price.

"Riley hey, I was looking for you!" She turned around and saw Adrian.

"Hey Adrian, I was just sending a letter to my godfather."

"Ok, I was going to watch the team practise. Fancy to join me?"

"Yes, let's go." They were heading to the pitch when Riley heard a girl's voice.

"Hey you!" Riley turned her head and saw Sarah Selwyn.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you alone?" Riley glanced at Adrian who looked puzzled, but then stepped away from them.

"I heard what you did, with that girl. Not bad for a first year, but in the future I would advise you to target a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff" she grinned at Riley.

"I'll keep that in mind." She replied coolly.

"Look… I don't know what you saw the other night, but… It wasn't what it looked like." Riley raised an eyebrow. She didn't really care what that girl was doing with Flint.

"And what did it look like?" Riley asked, folding her arms. Sarah raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Ok then… But just keep in mind that you don't want to make an enemy of me." Selwyn gave her a mischievous smirk before leaving. Riley rolled her yes. What was the matter with those girls?

* * *

Several weeks had passed since that day in potions class, and life was good again. Riley had decided that she would keep a low profile. Her new goal in life was to avoid trouble.

The only thing that was still bothering her, were her nightmares. They were more frequent now. Therefore, she wasn't sleeping well. She wrote to Remus asking for advice and he told her to go to see Dumbledore. But she didn't want to. She was afraid he would not take her seriously like Snape.

One night she was in her bed, tossing and turning.

 _She was in a forest; she couldn't recognize where exactly. She was surrounded by people she didn't know. She saw her parents too, she smiled at them._

 _But then, the sound of a cold and sharp laugh reached her ears. Her parents suddenly disappeared. She turned around and saw the same creature there. But this time it lifted its wand and said. "Avada Kedavra!"_

Riley woke up suddenly, breathing fast. She couldn't take it anymore. She got up, put her dressing-gown on and went to see Snape. She didn't care if it was the middle of the night. All she wanted was to sleep, and she wouldn't leave Snape alone until he gave her that potion. When she was in front of his door, she knocked hard several times.

"What do you think you are doing? It's two in the morning!" She had never seen Snape that angry. He was looking at her as if he wanted to murder her. But she was too tired to mind.

"I can't sleep, I really need that potion!" There was no point on beating around the bush. He looked at her without saying a word, his eyes widened. Then, he lifted his hands to his temples and massaged them.

"Miss Potter, I'll ask again. What do you think you are doing?" He finally asked, taking a step towards her. She didn't step back.

"I wouldn't be bothering you if it wasn't important. You want to go back to sleep, I want to go back to sleep! There is a simple solution. You give me that potion."

She knew she was going too far, and there would be consequences, but she didn't mind. She was too tired to think straight anyway. If this was the price to pay to have a peaceful night of sleep, then she would pay it twice if she had to.

"Very well, Miss Potter. I didn't want to give it to you, but it seems like I have no choice." She allowed herself a smile. Who would have guessed it was that easy? "Detention on Saturday, goodnight." And he slammed the door on her face. Her smile faltered.

She slowly went back to sleep. Ok, maybe it wasn't the smartest decision, but she wasn't to blame, she was too tired to think properly.

The next morning, she was exhausted. She was eating her breakfast in the Great Hall, when Adrian sat down next to her.

"No offense, but you look like shit." Riley looked up at him through narrowed eyes.

"I'm too tired, so I'm going to let that one pass." She said looking at her scrambled eggs again.

"So, Ravenclaw is playing against Hufflepuff tomorrow, who do you think will win?" He asked, making her feel really miserable.

"I can't go, I have detention with Snape."

"What? Why?"

"Long story." She wasn't really in the mood to tell him about how she confronted a professor, like she was some kind of royalty. Adrian frowned.

"Would you just stop getting into trouble, please?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, seems like trouble is a friend of mine."

* * *

Fred Weasley looked through the window of his dorm. He stared as the Giant squid appeared under the moonlight. He was playing a game of Snitch Snatcher with George and Lee, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Hey mate, it's your turn!" Lee said, snapping his fingers in front of Fred's eyes.

"Yeah, yeah sorry."

"You have your head in the clouds or what?" Lee asked raising an eyebrow.

"He's thinking about Riley." George said rolling his eyes.

"Am not!" Fred snapped defensively.

"You'd better not, she's a totally b-word." Lee spat.

"Yeah, there are plenty of nice girls anyway, look, Angelina's nice!" George said stretching and yawning.

"And beautiful!" Lee added.

"If you both are so fond of her, then she clearly doesn't need me."

"Look, I'm just saying, Riley's not the only girl in the world." George said calmly.

"For the last time I wasn't thinking of Riley!" Fred snapped getting into his bed. "I'm distracted because it's a boring game!"

"Right…"

Fred ignored his brother's comment. Riley was not worth thinking about, she had made her choice. Now, she was just someone he regretted meeting. He felt stupid when he thought about how he had ignored the fact that she was sorted into Slytherin, telling himself that it wasn't her fault. He should have known better. No, she wasn't worth thinking about, it was the last thing he thought before closing his eyes.

* * *

Saturday morning, everyone was excited with the Ravenclaw vs Hufflepuff match. The Slytherins were mocking the Hufflepuff players, saying they were absolutely irrelevant. Even Ravenclaw was more gentle towards Hufflepuff than Slytherin.

Riley was sitting at the Slytherin table playing with her porridge. She was very upset with missing the game. It wasn't fair. Adrian was talking with Montague. Riley dropped her spoon and got up.

"I'm not hungry, I'm heading to the dungeons. See you later." She said to Adrian. She heard Montague asking Adrian why she wasn't going to the game. When he told him why, she heard him saying that she was the only Slytherin that had ever had detention with Snape. Riley chose to ignore his comments, whether she was a real Slytherin, was the least of her concerns.

She knocked the potions classroom door.

"Come in!" She opened the door and saw Snape in there, sitting on his chair. "Miss Potter, I hope you're feeling better." Riley frowned, was him mocking her? She didn't answer, instead she stared at him without revealing any expression. "I talked with Professor Dumbledore about your problem, and he wishes to talk you, so you're going to see him before dinner. In the meantime, we have reached an agreement, so for your detention, you'll brew your own sleeping potion."

Riley's face suddenly enlightened, she was going to obtain her potion after all. She allowed herself a smile. Maybe, it was worth losing the game for.

"Th… Thanks."

"Professor Dumbledore's idea, not mine. I still don't think it's a good idea. Now, here are the instructions." He handed her a piece of parchment. "You can start."

"Won't you help me?"

"I'll verify it before you poison yourself. But I have other things to do."

After four hours, Riley had already started over three times. This potion was very hard to brew, not something you'd ask a first year to do. The feeling of happiness she had felt when Snape told her what she was doing for her detention, was now fading away. She wasn't able to do it with no help. When her potion was turning yellow for the second time, she threw her spatula to the ground in anger and sat down frustrated, folding her arms. She heard footsteps behind her.

"I can't do this." She simply said.

Snape reached her cauldron and glimpsed inside, a slight grin appeared on his face.

"Clearly not!" He stated.

"So are you going to help me?"

"I'm afraid your detention is over for today, but you can come back next Saturday if you want to try again."

"What? That's not fair! This potion is too hard! Will I have to come every bloody Saturday till I get it right?"

"It depends."

"On what?"

"How bad you want this potion."

Riley left the classroom fuming in anger, she was pretty sure Snape was doing this on purpose, maybe it was his little revenge for waking him up in the middle of the night. But if Dumbledore had agreed to it, who was he to say no? Anyway, she was going to see Dumbledore that evening, he would probably help her.

She rushed to the Great Hall looking at her watch, she had only twenty minutes before lunch was over. She saw Adrian sitting in there, eating dessert, so she joined him.

"Hey." She said while putting some mash potatoes with a chicken leg on her plate.

"Hey Rye, so how was detention?"

"Horrible, how was the game?"

"Nice," he said shrugging, "Ravenclaw won, which isn't really surprising, but to be fair, the Hufflepuff keeper was knocked out of his broom."

"Really? I never would've thought that Ravenclaw would do something like that."

"They didn't, it was actually a sixth-year Slytherin who did this. Wouldn't like to be in his place right now." He said dipping his spoon into his pudding.

"A Slytherin you say? No wonder no one likes us in this school." She said seriously but Adrian just chuckled.

* * *

That evening Riley went to see Professor Dumbledore. She found herself in a large circular room with many portraits of former headmasters and a private library with an incredible collection of books. She walked towards the headmaster's desk and saw a big red bird next to it.

"Ah Miss Potter, what a wonderful night isn't it? Feel free to help yourself with some candy." He said showing her a silver plate with moving things inside that looked like earthworms. She shook her head politely. "So Professor Snape told me about your nightmares and I found it very curious, could you tell me more about it?"

Riley dithered for a moment. She didn't like talking about it.

"It's about… Well it's not always the same."

"Yes Professor Snape explained it to me. But what I would like to know is if they have something in common."

"Yes." She answered faintly. "They're all about Voldemort." She thought he was going to scold her for pronouncing his name. But he just nodded.

"I'd like you to keep a diary of it." Riley nodded. "Well you can join your housemates for dinner now, I know I'm very hungry." He smiled at her.

"There's another matter I'd like to discuss with you."

"I'm listening."

"Professor Snape told me that you both agreed to give me the sleeping potion, but he made me brew the potion on my own, and well, I failed. And to be honest I don't think he likes me very much." Dumbledore's smile deepened, he was clearly finding the situation very amusing.

"Well, I can assure you that you're wrong Riley."

"Am I?"

"Yes, you remind him of someone he knew a long time ago."

"Who?"

"That's not important." He said, getting up of his chair. "I can almost smell the pumpkin pies, don't worry I'll talk to Professor Snape."

Riley left his office thinking about what he had said. So Snape liked her? She found that hard to believe. She went to the girl's bathroom to wash her hands and bumped into a girl with orange hair that was cutting another girl's hair.

"Hello Tonks, Claire what happened to you?"

"Ah, hello little girl, nothing, it's not a big deal." Tonks said dropping accidentally the scissors onto the floor.

"Seriously Tonks, someday you'll kill someone!" Claire giggled and grabbed the scissors from the floor. "Selwyn found it would be fun to put chewing gum in my hair."

"That's horrible. But why does she hate you so much? You're not even in the same year."

"She's mad because my dad was the one who put her father in Azkaban."

"Azkaban? Why? What did he do?"

"Oh, didn't you know? He's a deatheater."

Riley felt a knot swell in her throat. A deatheater, Voldemort's follower.

"I… no, I didn't know."

"Anyway, it seems like she lives to make my life a living hell."

"Why don't you do something to her?"

"What for? It's a never-ending war. And I'm a prefect, I just take points from her house and put her on detention, it's not very effective, but at least I don't break any rules, believe me it's the best retaliation."

Riley wasn't convinced, she had done one thing and it was enough to get Cora out of her hair. Plus, Claire was older than Sarah Selwyn, she obviously knew more jinxes than her. She didn't understand how someone could live like this for so long.

"So she does these things to you and you do nothing?! If it was me I wouldn't let her get away with it." Riley stated making Claire chuckle.

"Yeah, but, the thing is I'm not… Well…"

"What?"

"I'm not…"

"A fucking Slytherin." A voice came from behind them making the three girls turn around. Riley saw Charlie Weasley. He approached Claire and touched her hair.

"I like it shorter." He winked at her.

"Well don't get used to it, I'm doing a spell to make them grow again." He turned to Riley and scowled.

"What is she doing here?"

"She's just helping us Charlie, don't be daft." Tonks said.

"Helping? That's what you're calling it now?" he spat, "she's probably here on Selwyn's behalf, I'm telling ya."

"I'm not. It's not like I'm friends with all Slytherins." Riley said clearly annoyed. "I understand why you hate me. But it doesn't give you the right to say whatever you want about me, you don't know me! I know that Fred must have told you horrible things about me, but I'm pretty sure he exaggerated. I'm not that monster." She was expecting Charlie to get angry but instead he just laughed, it wasn't a warm laugh, though.

"Well maybe you don't know but… Fred didn't tell me what you did. On the contrary, he kept on defending you, and that's why I'm mad. You're manipulating him, and you don't even feel bad about it!"

Right was astonished, she couldn't believe what Charlie had just said. So, Fred didn't tell anyone what she did. She felt awful, he was really too good for her, and she was wrong, she was _that monster_ after all. But she couldn't bare being that person. Riley sighed, at that precise moment she knew that her project of staying away from trouble was ruined.

* * *

Next Saturday, Riley went to the potions classroom. She felt nervous, but it wasn't because of the potion. Snape was already waiting for her in front of a table.

"Miss Potter, you're late." Riley took a look at her watch.

"Three minutes only."

"Yes, three minutes of my life waisted because of you, I already told you not to be late." Riley sighed and started to brew the potion. There was no way Snape liked her. This time Snape stayed in the classroom, correcting some essays from third years. Her potion was brown-yellow and a smelly smoke was raising from it.

"Are you trying to intoxicate us, Miss Potter?" Snape asked without taking his eyes from someone's essay.

"Professor… I have to tell you something…" Riley said making him raise his eyes at her. "I… Well… I" She breathed heavily. "I was the one who made Cora Avery's head shrink." He stared at her with his cold black eyes before saying.

"Yes, I know Miss Potter." He looked back at the essay.

"You… you know?"

"Yes, of course. Do you think I can't identify the effects of a shrinking solution?"

"I… But then, why didn't you say something? Why ain't I on detention?" Riley asked.

"Well, I didn't have any proof of it, and to be honest I was curious to see what you would do. Needless to say that I'm very disappointed with you." Riley lowered her head in shame. "But, here you are, confessing everything. I have to ask, why are you playing the hero now?"

"I don't want to be a hero. But I feel guilty, and I hate it." Snape just nodded and got up of his chair.

"Why did you do it?"

"I just wanted Avery to leave me alone." Snape was now standing next to her. He looked at her cauldron.

"You're putting too much aconite in it." He said before lifting his wand to it " _Evanesco_!" The cauldron's content vanished away. "Start over!" He said, Riley sighed and started to brew her potion for the third time that day, but this time Snape stood next to her, guiding her. When detention was over, Riley was feeling lighter, it felt good to finally letting it all out. She could cross that out of her list. Now she had just one more thing to do.

She arrived in the Slytherin common room and saw the person she was looking for.

"Selwyn!" Riley called. The girl turned around and when she saw that it was Riley she whispered something to her friend. Her friend grinned at Riley and then left.

"Yes?" She gave Riley the most fake teeth smile she had ever seen.

"Leave Claire Ackers alone or I'll tell your boyfriend what you've been doing when he's not around." Her fake smile faded.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I don't owe you anything. You were the one who wasn't careful enough."

"Maybe you don't owe me anything, but I'd like to remember you that if you say something, you are really going to regret this."

"I don't have to say anything, all I'm asking you, is to leave Claire alone, it's not difficult." She didn't wait for a reply and left to her dorm. She ignored the death glare she received from Cora and lied on her bed. She knew Sarah Selwyn was nothing like Cora, she should not be messing up with fourth-year Slytherins, it was suicidal. But she never intended to say anything about Selwyn, she just wanted to scare her a little. She shook her head in an attempt to wash away her thoughts. She allowed her mind to think about Fred, deep down, Riley was hoping that they could be friends again.

* * *

Sarah Selwyn was walking through the Quiddicth pitch. The Slytherin team was practising.

"Marcus!" She yelled at the flying figures into the sky. "MARCUS!" Some player poked Marcus' back, he turned around and saw Sarah calling him. He dived into her direction looking angry.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I'm busy."

"I need to talk to you!"

"Well, I'm having practice now, can't it wait?" He asked impatiently.

"No, it can't actually."

"Well what is it? Spill it out." He snapped.

"That first year, Potter, she's threatening to tell Jason about us."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, because she wants everyone to like her, I suppose. Why does anyone do that?" She said, putting her hands on her waist. "Anyway, I need you to do something about it, you know, frighten her like you do with the other first years." Marcus scowled at her, he hated being told what to do. She was now very close to him, their lips almost touching. She put her hand behind his neck and said, "Do it or it's over." He pushed her away.

"Anything else princess?" He asked sarcastically.

"No" she smirked and left the pitch flipping her hair. That little Potter girl was going to regret ever being born.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reviewing :)


	5. Chapter 4: Christmas I

**Chapter 4: Christmas I**

As they entered December, the weather turned drastically cold. The first snowflakes started to fall, covering the ground with a thin layer of snow _._ Riley was in the Great Hall having breakfast, she wandered her eyes over the Gryffindor table and stopped and she saw Fred Weasley. He was talking and laughing with that girl, Angelina Johnson. Riley instinctively clenched her fist around her fork. She couldn't find any valuable reason for disliking that girl, but she did. She got up before finishing her breakfast and headed to her first class that day, Charms.

She was walking in the corridor when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a broom cupboard.

"Wha…?" She started to scream.

"Shhh…" Someone put a hand on her mouth. She turned her head and saw the huge figure of Marcus Flint. Riley's eyes widened. This couldn't be good. "I'm going to let go of you, but first I need to be sure you will be quiet, yeah?" Riley nodded and Flint slowly released her. She waited for him to say something.

"So I've heard you were threatening Sarah." Riley held her breath for a brief moment.

"I just asked her to leave Claire Ackers alone!" She replied, trying to sound confident and defiant at the same time.

"What? Why do you care?" Marcus frowned confused.

"Claire's a good person, and she has been good to me." Marcus still looked confused. He shook his head.

"Look, I don't care what your motivations are. But unfortunately to you, in this case, if you're threatening Sarah, you're threatening me. And believe me, you don't want to do that!" Riley diverted her eyes from his penetrating gaze. The way he looked at her was unsettling.

"Ok, to be honest, I never intended to say anything about you two! I couldn't care less. I just wanted her to believe I would." Flint put his hand on his forehead and rubbed it, murmuring something that sounded like _"girls"._

"All right listen, I don't want to do anything to you, so just stop it, ok?" He said opening the cupboard door.

"No." Riley stated, folding her arms against her chest. Marcus stopped and closed the door again, turning his gaze towards her.

"I'm not asking you." He said grabbing her wrist.

"I already said I wasn't going to say anything, why do you care?"

"Because if you don't stop threatening her, she will come to me, and I have no patience to deal with this shit. Besides, I know Sarah and she'll make you pay, if you say something." He gave her an impish grin. "You're a kitten trying to fight a tiger."

"Well that's my problem not yours."

"You can't rival her, so let it go, Potter!" He finally said before leaving the cupboard. Riley sighed deeply and followed him. She saw Adrian, not far away from where she was, looking at her puzzled.

"Why were you in a broom cupboard with Marcus Flint?" He asked her.

"Long story." She said, making him roll his eyes.

"Yes, that's what you always say. You know, I tell you everything, because you're my friend, but if you don't trust me…"

"Sorry Ade," she cut him off, "it's just that… ok, I'll tell you, but not here, after class, ok?"

"Yeah." He nodded slowly, not convinced.

During Charms class, they started to learn how to make objects fly. Professor Flitwick was standing over a pile of books so he could see everyone in the class. He put them into pairs. She was with Adrian.

"So remember, swish and flick your wand saying _'Wingardium Leviosa'_ " said Professor Flitwick.

It seemed incredibly easy when Professor Flitwick made a little mouse fly over their heads, but everyone was struggling to make a light feather fly. Riley made her feather fly for ten seconds before it fell back onto her desktop.

"Very well, Miss Potter! Keep on focusing!" Professor Flitwick said. Riley noticed Cora mimicking him, making her friends snicker.

"That's hard!" Adrian said, "How did you do it?" Riley just shrugged. She wasn't listening to Adrian, she had her eyes on Fred, who was pairing with Angelina. She saw Fred holding her hand, showing her the correct way to swish her wand. The twins were very talented with charms, she couldn't deny it. "Hey, careful with that!" Adrian said when Riley did a very abrupt movement with her wand.

"Sorry." She said.

That evening, Riley and Adrian went to the Slytherin common room to do their homework together and Riley told Adrian everything.

"Wow, that's pretty crazy! So Sarah Selwyn, who's dating Jason Fletcher, is also seeing Marcus Flint!"

"Keep your voice down!" Riley said looking around her.

"You know you can't tell this to anyone right?" Adrian said, grabbing Riley's arm. "I mean, Marcus Flint will be the next Quidditch captain!" Riley didn't think about it, she wanted so badly to join the team, it wasn't going very well.

"I'm not telling anyone, I'm not crazy."

"I don't know, with Avery…"

"Well, Selwyn's not Avery!" Then, she thought about Flint's metaphor, so she was neither a lion nor a snake, but a cat. No, not a cat, a baby cat. "Look, don't worry I won't tell anyone!" The sound of something falling onto the ground behind them made her and Adrian startle. She turned her head and saw Cora Avery grabbing her book from the floor, but she didn't look back at Riley.

"Do you think she heard us?" Riley asked worried. He shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, she's not crazy to tell anyone either." Riley looked back at Cora who was leaving the common room. Adrian was right, she wouldn't do it.

* * *

Saturday, Riley woke up very happy. She was going home for Christmas. She could really use a break from all the drama in her life. Adrian was staying in Hogwarts since his parents were visiting his grandmother in Norway who was sick. She ate her breakfast very fast and went to take one of the school carriages. She picked one randomly and entered, not paying attention on who was in there. She sat down and saw two red-haired boys in front of her. She looked next to her and saw a black boy with dreadlocks who gave her a scowl. Fred didn't look at her, he diverted his gaze through the window. George seemed uncomfortable, not knowing what to do. Feeling the awkwardness in the air, Riley grabbed a Quidditch magazine from her bag and started to read it. Lee Jordan was the one who broke the silence.

"I told we should've asked Angelina to join us in here." He snapped. Riley raised her head to look at him and shook it in disbelief. Fred glowered at his friend, but Lee ignored it. "She really likes you Fred, I heard it from Alicia."

Riley stared at her magazine without reading it. All she wanted was to be alone with Fred and apologize to him. But he was never alone, she didn't mind George, but Lee was starting to piss her off. She knew that she didn't have a choice so she closed her magazine, sighing.

"I told Snape I was the one who did it." She said in a small voice. Fred looked at her but didn't say anything. "And I wanted to apologize to you Fred, and to you George." She said turning her head towards George. George nodded at her but Fred only lowered his eyes.

"It's a bit too late for this, isn't it?" Lee spat. Riley opened her mouth to retort but Fred was faster.

"That's all right, Lee. Riley, I accept your apologies but it doesn't change anything, I don't trust you." Riley lowered her head.

"Yeah, I messed up pretty bad, didn't I?" She said, smiling slightly.

"Yes, you did." He confirmed, trying to hold back his smile.

"So please stop talking to us now!" Lee scolded. Suddenly, Riley burst into laughter, she didn't know why, the situation was everything but funny. It was actually extremely awkward. Lee Jordan gave her an angry stare, but Fred and George were smirking.

When they finally arrived at the Hogsmead station, the three boys exited the carriage first and started to head to the train. Riley decided to take advantage of the situation to talk to Fred alone.

"Fred!" She called him, he stopped and turned his body towards her. "I know you don't trust me, and I would understand if you didn't want to talk to me anymore, but, I just want you to know that I'm really, really sorry, you have to believe me! And I feel awful, and… I'm still going to ask you to give me another chance. I've already served my sentence, so please let me be on parole." Fred looked to the ground and nodded slightly.

"On parole..." He repeated, smiling weakly, "I'll think about it."

"FRED!" Lee Jordan called his friend "Come on!"

"I have to go" he said to her before joining his friend and brother. Riley noticed that Angelina and Alicia were with them. All she had to do now was to find an empty compartment.

Riley was sitting alone in a compartment reading for the third time her Quidditch magazine, when someone opened the compartment door.

"Hey little girl, what are you doing here on your own?" Tonks, who had platinum hair this time, asked her. Riley just shrugged. "Can I sit here with you?" Riley nodded, smiling at her.

"Why aren't you with Charlie and Claire?" Riley asked, closing her magazine.

"I was, but they were snogging like little monkeys so I get the hell outta there." She grimaced. Riley giggled.

"What about you Tonks, do you have a boyfriend?" Riley teased her.

"Nah, I'm more into focusing on what's really important right now, 'know what I mean?"

"Classes?"

"Fun." She gave Riley a very large smirk making her laugh.

"What about you little girl? Do you fancy someone? That boy that's always with you?"

"Who? Adrian Pucey?" Tonks nodded. "No, he's just my mate, nothing more."

They talked all the way to King's Cross station. When the train arrived, Riley spotted Remus waiting for her.

"Hello Riley." He smiled at her.

"Hi." She said giving him a hug.

"Well, I'll be going now little girl." Tonks said, winking at her.

"Who's that? She looks old to be a friend of yours." Remus asked.

"That's Tonks, she's a sixth-year."

"Tonks?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, technically her birth name is Nymphadora, but she doesn't like it. She's pretty fun."

"Right." He said. "I hope you're hungry, my father is making your favourite meal." He added smiling at her.

"I'm starving." She smiled back at him.

* * *

The Lupins lived in a modest cottage located on a hill and completely isolated. It was rusty and old, the typical witch house you could find in muggle fairy tales. Yet, it looked very cosy and welcoming. The stone path leading to the house was covered with snow and there was smoke rising from the chimney.

She entered the house along with Remus and gave Lyall Lupin a long hug. Even if he wasn't her real grandfather, he was the closest she had to one.

"I hope you're hungry, pumpkin."

"I'm starving." She giggled, sitting down at the table.

"First, go wash your hands." Lyall said. Riley growled, pushing herself back in her chair.

"So how's she?" Lyall asked his son.

"She seems fine." Remus answered.

Riley got back and sat down. She put some lasagna on her plate and started eating it.

"So how's school?" Lyall asked her.

"Fine." She said shrugging.

"What's like to be in Slytherin?"

"It's fine I guess." Riley answered faintly. "Are you disappointed with me?"

"Of course not." Remus answered. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know. Dad would probably be very disappointed." Remus sighed, remembering how much James hated Slytherin.

"He was your father, he loved you more than the whole world. Even if he was still alive, the fact that you're a Slytherin wouldn't change it." He said making Riley smile. "Although, I hope you're staying out of trouble, or are you really your father's daughter?" He asked her.

"Yes, I'm trying."

"Let's just stop talking about school, shall we?" Lyall said before Remus could ask anything else. He gave his son a warning look as if to say 'not now'. Remus agreed in silence.

* * *

 _Riley was in a dark cold place, but she couldn't say where, she looked around and saw graves everywhere, she couldn't see the end of it._

 _She started running to get away from this place, but it was endless._

 _She stopped when she heard a baby crying behind her, she turned around to see the baby, but jumped when she saw that it wasn't a baby but a little creature there, it stopped crying and started laughing at her. A cold and evil laugh. The creature started to grow, and she saw a pair of red eyes stare at her._

 _She tried to get away, but she was trapped. She couldn't move. The creature released her. She tried to get her wand but he was faster, "Avada Kedavra."_

Riley woke up screaming. She grabbed her blanket and went to the living room. She sat down on the couch holding her legs. She didn't have any Sleeping potion with her.

"Another nightmare?" Remus asked sitting in front of her.

"Yes."

"Have you talked to Dumbledore?"

"Yes, he asked me to keep a diary. But he didn't tell me why he thinks I have those nightmares."

"Yes, that's odd. I hate no being able to help you."

"That's fine. Professor Snape has been giving me sleeping potions, so I don't have nightmares that often, anymore." Remus nodded, so Snape was helping her, that was new. After all the things James and Sirius did to him, it was surprising that Snape was helping James' daughter. But again, he remembered that Snape used to be friends with Lily, and Riley looked a lot like Lily.

Riley fell asleep on the couch, and Remus stayed there next to her. He was lost in his thoughts when his father sat down next to him.

"Nightmares again?" He asked. Remus nodded. "Poor girl."

"I hate being helpless like this. I don't know what else to do, even Dumbledore doesn't know why she has those dreams. I don't know if it's some kind of PTSD or something more." He said staring at the fireplace. "All the healers we went to said that it was nothing, that it was going to pass, but it hasn't."

"I don't know son… But you know what, now that I think about it, your mother once mentioned some kind of muggle doctor who talks with people to help them, I can't remember the name, it's a… shrimp or something like that."

"A shrimp?" Remus chuckled, "I don't think that's the term, dad."

"Well, how should I know? They have weird professions those muggles."

Remus glanced at the little girl in front of him. He was worried about her. It was really hard taking care of another human being. Dumbledore sent him a letter saying that Riley made one of her housemates' head shrink. Remus didn't exactly approve it but it didn't bother him that much either. He thought that it was something James would have done. However, what he found difficult to handle was all the lying.

He never wanted to be a father, it never really crossed his mind with all the werewolf thing. He didn't know what he would do if his father wasn't there with him, helping him. She deserved so much more than what he could provide her. He closed his eyes and remembered the night that changed his life forever.

" _My dear, I need you to tell us exactly what you saw, do you think you can do that?" A gentle dark-haired witch with blue eyes asked._

 _The girl remained silent._

" _I know it's difficult, but you want to help us get the people who hurt your mom and dad, right?"_

 _Still nothing._

" _This is pointless. We should force ourselves inside her head!" A man behind them shouted._

" _She's just a kid Crouch, do you want to traumatise her even more?" Remus scolded._

" _I think Remus is right, Barty, we can't do this to her, we have to give her time, her parents were just murdered, and there is a big chance that she witnessed everything that happened." Said the dark-haired witch._

" _WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY WE NEED TO GET THOSE INFORMATIONS" Barty Crouch Sr. yelled._

" _Stop yelling, you're scaring her!" They all turned their heads to look at the 3 years old child, but she had the same unreadable expression she had when she got there._

" _Where's the boy anyway?" Crouch asked dryly, changing the subject._

" _With Dumbledore." Remus answered in the same tone._

 _Ten minutes later Dumbledore apparated there, Crouch didn't even wait for him to say anything._

" _The girl isn't cooperating!"_

" _Not really surprising, is it?" Dumbledore said calmly._

" _Well, it isn't really useful either, is it?" Crouch snapped. Dumbledore ignored him, and turned to Remus._

" _May I speak with you?" and without waiting for an answer he left the room, Remus followed him. "Harry is safe, he's living with Lily's sister, since she is the only family he has left." Remus just nodded, "Although, I'm afraid they won't agree to take care of Riley as well." Remus looked at Dumbledore with a frightened face, guessing where Dumbledore was going with this._

" _I can't do this Dumbledore, I can't raise her!"_

" _Why not?" Dumbledore asked kindly. Remus couldn't believe what he was being asked to do. He knew Dumbledore was a bit eccentric, and well, loony, if you may ask. But this was just insane._

" _I'm a werewolf, Dumbledore!" He exclaimed._

" _I'm aware of that."_

" _So, how do you expect this to work?"_

" _I'm sure Lyall will be just glad to help you." Remus kept staring at the old man, with an incredulous face. Would his father help him? Could he do this? "This girl has nowhere else to go, why would you accept to be her godfather if you are not willing to do this?" Dumbledore added more seriously._

 _This was a good question; Why would he do this? Why did he do this? He always wondered why Lily didn't ask Sirius to be Riley's godfather instead of him. She said that he was more conscientious. Sirius wasn't very happy about it, but James tried to reassure him by saying that he would be the next one's godfather._

" _Of course, I cannot make this choice for you. I have to go now, if you decide to refuse, please inform Emmeline. She will try to find a nice orphanage for Riley." Dumbledore finally said before apparating._

* * *

Riley woke up on Christmas' morning, very excited. She hurried to the Christmas tree and saw four presents for her under the tree. The first she opened was from Lyall, he gave her a crystal ball that could show her any place in space with some chocolate frogs. Remus gave her a Quidditch Starter Kit which she liked very much along with an old Chudley Cannons T-shirt that belonged to her father. The last one was from Adrian. Riley was surprised that he bought her a present. Thus, she made a mental note to buy something for him. He gave her a pair of Quidditch gloves.

"Already here?" Lyall asked giving her a mug of hot chocolate.

"Yes I really loved my presents, thanks a lot!" She smiled at him.

"Glad you liked, pumpkin."

Riley spent the whole Christmas day flying with her broom above a frozen lake near her house. There were not many muggles in that area. So, it was safe. When it was starting to get dark, she went back home.

"Riley, can I talk to you?" Remus asked.

"Yes." She sat down on the couch, brushing the snow of her new gloves.

"Well, we didn't get the chance to talk properly since you arrived here. How's school?"

"Good."

"Be honest."

Riley sighed. "It's been difficult, Slytherins are not very nice which isn't really surprising but I made a friend, he's cool!"

"Is that all?" Remus asked.

"Yes." Riley answered faintly. Remus stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"I know what you did Riley."

"What do you mean?"

"Dumbledore wrote me." Riley lowered her head. "Why didn't you tell me Riley?"

"I didn't mean… It wasn't my intention to hurt her. But that girl… she was awful to me, to everyone really. I guess I didn't tell you, because, well, because I felt ashamed. I didn't want you to think less of me."

"Riley, I would never think less of you. If you are having problems, I want you to talk to me. I know I'm not the best parenting figure but… I'm really trying my best."

"I think you're doing just fine." Riley smiled at him. "So you're not disappointed with me?!"

"For lying, yes, I am. But, for what you did, well, let's just say that you have Potter's blood in you, so I'm not really surprised." Riley giggled.

"Sometimes I'm surprised that dad wasn't in Slytherin."

"Me too, dear, me too."

That night Riley dreamt about her parents. It didn't happen often, but each time it was like she could be with them again, talk to them one more time. She relished those moments, those dreams.

* * *

A/N: So, this chapter is mostly centred on Riley's life outside Hogwarts. Not my favourite chapter, but it's important too. I'll try to post the next one very soon, with all the Drama with Fred and Marcus. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and let me know if you enjoyed it :)


	6. Chapter 5: Second Chances

**Chapter 5: Second Chances**

Riley was waiting for Adrian, standing by a stone pillar in the Slytherin common room. She looked around casually, and saw Sarah Selwyn kissing Jason Fletcher on the couch. Sarah got up from the couch giving Jason a last kiss, before walking away from the common room. Sarah was incredibly beautiful with her long straight black hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. She could understand why boys were so into Sarah, why Flint fancied her. Riley glimpsed down at her own hair, she also had long hair, but with messy waves that were very hard to tame sometimes.

Just then, someone entered the common room. Riley watched as many Slytherin students stepped aside quickly to let Marcus Flint pass.

"So you're not going to class anymore?" He asked Fletcher, throwing himself on the leather couch.

"I was here with Sarah, haven't seen her much lately!" He said shrugging. Riley glimpsed at Flint but his expression remained neutral.

"Where's she?" He asked casually.

"She's just left. There's something I would like to talk to you about." Jason said, stroking the back of his head.

"What's that?" Marcus asked, putting a chewing gum in his mouth.

"I think Sarah is cheating on me." Suddenly, Flint's eyes met Riley's, he stared at her with an intense glare. Her eyes skidded away quickly.

"What makes you think that?" She heard Marcus' voice.

"I don't know, I'm probably being paranoid, but she seems distant, you know." Marcus just stared at him, with an unreadable expression. "Well, I guess you wouldn't know, when was the last time you were serious with a girl?" Jason asked chuckling.

"Not many girls are worth the effort." Flint answered shrugging.

"Yes, I'm lucky to have Sarah." He said smiling slightly.

"Sorry, I couldn't find my tie." Riley startled. She turned her head and saw Adrian there beside her.

"You scared me." She said making him giggle. "Let's go."

In their way to Potions class, Riley spotted Fred for the first time since she got back to Hogwarts. He was with George, making some paper planes magically follow Snape. Snape turned around and burned the paper planes with a simple wave of his wand, looking angry around him. But the corridor was too crowded for him to know who was responsible for it. Fred met her gaze and smile at her, winking. She smiled back at him.

"Today, you're going to prepare a Wideye Potion which is a potion that will prevent the drinker from falling asleep. It's also an antidote for the Draught of Living Death." Said Professor Snape once everyone was in the classroom and seated.

Riley who had been preparing a N.E.W.T. level potion for the last months found that one very easy to make. Thus, she finished her potion fifteen minutes earlier, and Snape allowed her to go to the library before the end of the class.

The library was nearly empty since most of the students were still in class. Riley went to an empty table by the window and sat down. She started doing her Transfiguration homework, Professor McGonagall gave them a huge pile of homework and she still had a Charms essay to do. Not knowing the answer to the next question, Riley went to look for a book on the shelves. She stopped immediately when she heard Flint's voice on the other side of the bookcase.

"Sarah I think we should stop seeing each other."

"What? Why?"

"Because Jason suspects that you're cheating on him."

"WHAT?" She shouted getting a 'shhh' from Madam Pince. "Did he told you that? I bet that little bitch Potter opened her mouth." Riley felt her pulse rate.

"No, I don't think she did." Marcus said calmly. "It's actually because you've been distant with him lately." He added a little more coldly.

"No more than usual!" She snapped defensively. "I still think Potter has something to do with it."

"Anyway, we can't continue."

"Don't you dare to do this to me, Marcus Flint!" She said raising her voice.

"Keep your voice down! Look it's been fun and all that, but, I don't want to lose a friend and I'm pretty sure you don't want to lose your boyfriend either."

"Well, I might if you're willing to take his place." She whispered putting a finger on his chest lightly tracing it downwards. Riley sighed, why was she always in the most inconvenient places? She couldn't walk away without them noticing her. So she just stood there, waiting and hoping they wouldn't see her.

"Stop it Sarah." He said pushing her away slowly. "You know I don't do that!"

"Do what? Snog? Nothing has to change you know."

"I don't do relationships!"

"Well sorry, but we're already in a secret relationship."

"I can't. I'm sorry Sarah." He said before leaving her there. Riley heard Sarah swear before leaving as well. Once she was certain they had both left. Riley went back to her table, but she didn't finish her homework. Instead, she thought about the scene she had just witnessed. More specifically she thought about Sarah's accusations towards her. Why did she confront Sarah in the first place? Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut? Had the last months taught her nothing? Riley closed her transfiguration book, put her stuff in her bag and headed to the Great Hall.

Riley walked across the corridor, lost in her thoughts, when she bashed into someone.

"Look where you're going." Angelina Johnson snapped grabbing her bag that fell onto the ground.

"Well sorry, but it's as much your fault as it is mine." She snapped back. Angelina narrowed her eyes.

"So typical Slytherin!" She muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're a daft Slytherin who only thinks about herself!"

"You don't even know me!"

"I know more about you than you know." She said arching her eyebrows.

"Is that so? Please, enlighten me."

"Everyone knows what you did to Fred and George."

"Not that it's any of your business. But, I've already apologized to them, and they accepted it. So, it's cool."

"Did they? I wouldn't be so sure of that. I heard an interesting conversation last night in our common room." Riley's heart raced.

"What did you hear?"

"People were talking about you, not very nicely, though."

"Saying what?" Riley asked, losing her temper. But Angelina just shrugged before walking away with a grin flickered on her face.

Riley went to the Great Hall and sat down next to Adrian.

"Where were you?" He asked her.

"In the library." She said putting some mash potatoes on her plate. She glanced at the Gryffindor table, where the twins were. So they hadn't forgiven her after all. Then, a scary thought crossed her mind, what if they were planning something against her? Adrian was complaining about something, but Riley wasn't listening.

"Hey, are you listening to me? Where are you looking at?" Adrian asked her. Montague who was sitting in front of Adrian followed her gaze.

"Why are you looking at the Gryffindor table? Wishing you were there as well?" Riley chose to ignore him and turned to Adrian.

"Sorry what were you saying?" She asked smiling at him. Adrian didn't answer, instead he looked at her uncertain.

"Nothing." His voice trailed off. Montague looked at Adrian, as if to say 'I told you so'.

"Ok." She said weakly. She glanced one last time at Fred and then at Adrian, listening to him talk about Quidditch.

* * *

Snape had moved her "detentions" to Friday afternoon, so she could have her Saturdays off. She was able now to prepare her potion by her own, but Snape still checked it before she took it.

"I have to say your Wideye Potion was very good." He said to her, one Friday afternoon when she was brewing her Sleeping potion. Riley glimpsed at him smiling briefly. "And you're preparing this one better than my seventh-year students."

"Yeah well, that's all I've been doing."

"Your mother was also very talented in potions." He said after a moment or two.

"Did you know my mother?" Riley asked astonished.

"Yes." He answered, not looking at her.

"How?"

"We were in the same year when we were in here."

"Oh." Riley said, she wanted to ask him about her, she was always seeking for new information about her parents, but then she remembered that her mother was a Gryffindor, and also a Muggleborn. "But she was a Gryffindor, so I suppose you were not very close." She finally said.

Snape didn't answer, as if he wasn't listening. Riley looked at him one more time, before deciding that it'd be a waste of time to ask any further questions.

"Professor Dumbledore asked for your diary." Snape said, changing the subject.

"Oh right, it's in my dorm. Should I go get it?" She asked.

"Not now, give it to me on Monday, in potions class, that will do. Now, you can go, Miss Potter."

Riley left to the Slytherin common room. She was feeling extremely tired. She sat down on the couch fighting to keep her eyes opened. Riley leaned her head back, finally letting her eyes shut, when she heard Cora's voice.

"Emily, for the last time, do something to your hair! It looks like an owl made its nest on it! You're embarrassing us!" She was about to seat on the couch when she saw Riley in there. "Oh, you're here." She said, scowling.

"Yes." Riley confirmed dryly.

At the same time, Adrian entered the common room along with Montague. Montague glanced at Cora.

"Hi Cora." He said smirking. Cora gave him a quick smirk, and made a sign to her cronies to follow her she left the common room. Montague looked at Adrian with a grin. "Hard to get, I like that. She's the hottest girl in our year, don't you think?" Riley snorted.

Montague glared at her. "You're just jealous, I mean, who would want to date you?"

Riley glanced at Adrian as if she was expecting him to say something. But, he lowered his head feeling extremely uncomfortable. Every time Montague mocked, insulted or teased her, Adrian pretended not to be listening. At first, Riley thought that he was indeed not paying attention to them, but after a while she realised that he was actually just ignoring the whole situation. Riley rolled her eyes and looked back at Montague.

"You're right, I think you and Cora were made for each other." She gave him a fake smile before getting on her feet. Adrian grasped her wrist before she walked away _._

"Where are you going?" Adrian asked faintly.

"Away from you." Riley answered dryly.

She slept that night, feeling lonely than ever. The only person Riley thought she could count on, was being a true idiot. In addition to that, Fred hadn't talked to her since that day in Hogsmead, confirming her assumptions that he hadn't forgiven her after all, and Sarah Selwyn thought she was the one who told Fletcher about her and Flint. Only six and a half years left, she thought to herself before falling deeply into sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Riley was eating her breakfast alone. As usual, she was glancing at the Gryffindor table. She stared as George made a mocking imitation of Professor Snape who had just walked past them. The students next to him burst out laughing. Riley smiled slightly, she didn't dislike Snape anymore, but it was indeed funny. Riley stopped smiling the minute she saw Angelina sit beside Fred. She glanced at Fred to watch his reaction, when someone sat down across her, blocking her view.

"What do you want?" Riley asked dryly.

"Why are you talking to me like this?" Adrian asked uncertainly, Riley reckoned he knew exactly why.

"Seriously?" She asked, Adrian sighed.

"Look Riley, I'm sorry about Montague. He can be a real git sometimes."

"I'd like to see you say this to him." She retorted sarcastically "You are supposed to be my friend".

"You don't understand! He's my roommate, and well… Nobody likes you very much, so… Well… I mean, you're always talking with Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors." He paused for a second, "I really want to be your friend but I don't want people to hate me too!" Riley's eyes widened, she couldn't believe what she had just heard. She stood up very abruptly grabbing the attention of those around her and grabbed her bag before walking away from the Great Hall. She could feel Fred's eyes on her as she left. She ran off towards the School gardens and sat down on a bench.

"Hey little girl, is everything all right?" Tonks sat down beside her.

"Yes." Riley answered trying very hard to wipe away the rebellious teardrops that insisted on falling from her eyes.

"You don't look fine." She stated faintly.

"Don't worry, it's just an ordinary day in my life." She said trying to force a smile.

Not knowing what to do, Tonks started to stroke gently Riley's hair, in a clumsy attempt to comfort her. Riley looked at her.

"I'm serious thinking about being home schooled."

"Why?" Tonks chuckled. "Wouldn't you miss your friends?"

"What friends?" Riley asked miserable.

"Huh, me?" Tonks said, making Riley smile slightly. "That little boy that you said it's only your mate?" Riley's smile suddenly faltered.

"I guess I was wrong."

"Oh, that's the reason you're upset." It wasn't a question. "What's happened?"

Riley shook her head. "It's just really hard you know, convincing people to like you." Tonks burst into laughter.

"Then stop trying so hard, just be yourself." Riley smiled at Tonks.

"That hasn't worked so far."

"I'm pretty sure you're wrong."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"You know, I heard some Hufflepuff first year girl say that you are very cool, and then a boy said you are also pretty." Riley didn't know if Tonks was just saying that to cheer her up. But it was working.

"Now, come on, It's Saturday, you can't possibly be sad on a Saturday. Save it for another day." Tonks winked at her.

"Can I… stay with you?" Riley asked haltingly.

"Of course." Tonks smiled at her.

They went to meet Claire Ackers, who was watching the Gryffindor team practise. It was extremely cold, and Riley regretted not putting on some warmer clothes.

"Hi Tonks, hi Riley!" Claire waved her hand at them.

"Hi Claire!" Tonks and Riley said in a unison.

"How's it going?" Tonks asked.

"Fine, but to be honest, I don't like Quidditch very much, but please don't tell Charlie that!" Claire said making both Riley and Tonks giggle.

"How can one not like Quidditch?" Riley asked.

"I don't see any fun in a bunch of people flying around with some balls." Claire simply stated. "Besides, it's not a very good weather for it, is it?"

Riley didn't mind, all that really mattered to her was the adrenalin she felt while flying. In Riley's opinion there was nothing better than a bunch of people flying around with some balls. But she wasn't going to contradict Claire.

"Do you play Quidditch Riley?" Tonks asked her.

"Yes, I love it! I hope I can play for the team next year." Tonks half looked at Claire, they both seeming uncomfortable "What?" Riley asked.

"Well, not to discourage you little girl, but… Slytherin hasn't have girls in their team for ages!"

"But it can change right? I mean, next year there will be a new captain!" Riley said, trying to reassure herself.

"Flint?" Claire ackers chortled. "Yeah, cause he's a real gentleman." Tonks glowered at her friend. "Sorry."

Riley thought about Marcus Flint. Taking aside the whole story with Selwyn and Fletcher, he was not that bad. He was a bully for sure, he liked to scare first years, mainly Hufflepuffs. He was also extremely arrogant, and he didn't seem to care about other people's feeling either, even if they were his friends. Riley sighed, at least he didn't think she was the one who told Fletcher about him and Sarah. She couldn't even imagine what he would do to her if he did.

"But you ought to stand up for yourself, Riley!" Claire Ackers said, straightening her back. "Hey, speaking of it. Selwyn has been oddly nice to me lately."

"Really?" Tonks asked astonished.

Riley didn't look surprised, after all she was the reason why Selwyn wasn't doing anything.

"Yeah, maybe she just got tired of it, you know."

"I find that very hard to believe." Tonks finally stated.

* * *

Sunday afternoon, Riley was in the Owlery sending a letter to Remus. She wanted to tell him everything that was happening, but she couldn't. Therefore, she wrote a boring, simple letter, saying that things were doing well and asking him for news. She gave a small piece of bread to an owl, and stroke it slightly.

"That's my owl." Riley turned around and saw Fred Weasley. "Well, technically he's my family's owl. He often loses consciousness during long journeys, so he stays here until he regains enough strength to go back home."

"Sorry, I didn't know. I thought he was one of the school's. I'll choose another one."

"That's fine." He said shrugging. "Errol's old and he's always getting lost, if you want your letter to be delivered you'd better choose another owl."

Riley giggled. "Poor thing."

"Yeah." He giggled too. Riley gave her letter to another owl. "Why him?"

"Sorry?"

"Why did you choose Errol among all the others?" Fred asked. "It's not like he's the prettiest or cutest owl here."

"I don't know. I like him, he's the only owl here that let me stroke him." She smiled at Fred who smiled back at her.

"Weird, because usually he bites." He said grinning. He approached her and bent over the window of the tower, staring at the grass down below. "Listen, I thought about what you said before the Christmas holidays and… Well, I… I would like us to become friends again. I still like you, even if you're mad." He gave her a smirk.

"I'd like that too." She smiled at him. "Does that mean you forgive me?"

"Yeah... I may have overreacted. I admit that it was pretty fun making someone's head shrink, it was actually evilly brilliant, come to think about it." He chuckled. "I just wished you'd have told me."

"Yeah, I don't know why I didn't. I'm sorry."

"That's ok." He said looking straight at her eyes. "Now, let's get back inside the castle. It's chilly out here!" He added, putting his arm around her shoulder.

After they went in different directions, Riley was heading alone to the Slytherin common room. She couldn't stop herself from smiling. She felt so relieved to know that Fred had forgiven her after all.

"RILEY!" Adrian shouted, "Where the hell have you been?"

Riley chose to ignore him.

"RILEY!" He called again.

"WHAT?" She asked bitterly.

"Well I wouldn't go to the common room if I were you. Fletcher knows everything. It's pretty tense in there right now!"

"What? How?" Riley asked surprised, forgetting all the anger she felt towards Adrian.

"Well that's the worst part…" Adrian pondered for a moment, "He said it was a first year who told him everything."

Riley's eyes widened, "It's not possible! I didn't say anything I swear!"

"Are you sure?" Adrian asked haltingly.

"Of course I'm sure! I think I would have remembered if I told him anything!" Riley closed her eyes putting her hand on her forehead. "No, no, no, this can't be happening!"

"What are you going to do?" Adrian asked uneasy.

Riley sighed deeply, "I have no idea!"

* * *

This chapter is a little shorter than the others but I'll try to update soon. Thanks for reviewing :)

And about Diggory, I also thought so, but he's actually described as a fifth year in Prisoner of Azkaban, like Fred and George. ^^


	7. Chapter 6: Turn the tide

**Chapter 6: Turn the tide**

Riley was the last one to come back to the common room – almost being caught by Filch – and the first one to go to the Great Hall to have breakfast the next day. She spent the whole day trying to avoid Flint and Selwyn. Notwithstanding the fact that Adrian warned her about the previous fuss, they didn't sit next to each other like they usually did in Transfiguration. At noon, she decided to skip lunch, not wanting to risk bumping into Marcus or Sarah. She was hiding under a spiral staircase that leaded to the Astronomy tower, doing her Transfiguration homework when she felt something hit her leg.

"Ouch." She said grabbing the apple that had just hit her.

"Sorry Riley." Fred Weasley appeared next to her, "I didn't see you there, I was actually trying to hit Peeves."

"That's fine." She said gazing the apple. "Can I keep this?"

"If you want to, but it's been rolling all over the castle." He answered, shrugging. Riley made a disgusted face and handed him the apple.

"I haven't eaten anything."

"You know that they are still serving lunch in the Great Hall, right?" He asked, throwing the apple up in the air and catching it.

"Yes. But I can't go in there."

"Why not?"

Riley pondered for a moment before answering "I'm hiding."

"From who?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Some Slytherins." Her voice weakened. Fred just nodded, Riley was hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Let's go to the kitchens, the house-elves will give us food if we ask them."

"I don't know… I don't even know how to get there, and I don't want to bump into them."

"Oh but you won't." He grinned at her, before pulling something out of his bag. It was a blank piece of parchment. "This my dear, will change your life forever. Ready?" Riley nodded.

Fred pointed his wand at the piece of parchment, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Suddenly, ink lines started to appear on the parchment. Riley watched, astounded, as the lines drew themselves into something that resembled a lot like a maze. There were also some moving dots labelled with the name of everyone in Hogwarts, including the poltergeists.

"It's a map showing every detail of Hogwarts, you can see what everyone's doing, at any second."

"That's incredible! Where did you get this from?"

"Well, before the holidays, George and I let off a Dungbomb in the corridor, and Filch caught us, so he took us to his office and while George was distracting him, I looked into a drawer marked 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous' and grabbed this." He had a smug grin on his face.

"That's… That's really amazing!"

"Right? So who are we hiding from?"

Riley looked at the Piece of parchment, she saw the name 'Marcus Flint' located in the common room while the name 'Sarah Selwyn' was in the Great Hall. She pointed at the two dots.

"Right, so the kitchen is right here… Let's see, we can go this way. Come on." He got to his feet very quickly, giving Riley his hand and lifting her up.

They arrived in a corridor located under the Great Hall, and Riley glimpsed at the map. "It should be here."

"It is here!" Fred said tickling a pear from a painting of a bowl of fruit. The pear squirmed and laughed and then the painting transformed itself into a green door-knob. They both entered the door and found themselves in a very large room full with house-elves walking around very quickly. Riley was amazed by it. It looked almost like a smaller copy of the Great Hall, with five tables in the same position than those from above.

"So what do you want to eat?" Fred asked her. Riley shrugged and approached a house-elf.

"Hi…" She said haltingly, the house-elf looked at her with his big eyes. "Can I have something to eat, please?" With his eyes wide open, he started to run, nearly tripping on his feet, and grabbed a basket full of food.

"Here, Miss, please choose anything you want." Riley felt weird, she took a piece of cake with a napkin and smiled at him. "Thanks."

Riley could almost see the house-elf blush, but maybe it was only due to the reflection of the flames. Fred also grabbed something from the basket and when Riley looked at him with a questioning look, he shrugged. "It's rude to refuse food."

They left the kitchens carefully and went back to where she was hiding before. They had potions class next, in the dungeons, so Riley was looking at her watch every five minutes. She was feeling very nervous, her heart was racing. She glimpsed at the Map one more time and saw that Marcus Flint was still in the common room.

When there were only five minutes left before the start of the class, Fred pointed his wand to the map one more time "Mischief managed!" The parchment was blank again. "We have to go."

Riley sighed and followed him to the dungeons. As always, the corridors were crowded with students and Riley felt grateful for it. She tried to hide between the students, quickly making her way to the potions classroom. Adrian was already in there, sitting next to Montague. He glanced at her and tried a weak smile, but she only scowled in response, sitting as far as she could from him. There was also a group of Gryffindors sitting in the back of the classroom, and Fred headed to their direction. Riley was used to being alone, even if it wasn't really by choice. She grabbed her potions book from her bag and waited. Snape was standing there in front of them, with a menacing glare. He finally cleared his throat, as a final warning to those who weren't in their seats yet.

"Sometimes I wonder if he knows how to smile." Riley looked surprised to where the voice had come from, Fred had just sat down next to her. "What?" He asked looking at her.

"Nothing."

They were brewing a new potion, and once again Riley finished it earlier, so she started to help Fred.

"Miss Potter, if you have already finished your potion, fill one flagon with a sample of it and bring it to me." Said Snape, who was staring at them for quite a while. Riley gave Fred an apologetic look and headed to Snape's desk.

"Thank you, Miss Potter. I'll take your dream diary as well." The diary! She had forgotten about it with all the mess that had happened.

"I don't have it, Professor. I forgot it in my dorm."

"Well, you have ten minutes before the end of the class to go get it."

Riley left the potions classroom very fast. She didn't want to take chances of running into the two Slytherins. But unfortunately for her, the person she dreaded most was in the Slytherin common room, sitting on the couch. Marcus Flint glowered at her, making Riley froze and gasp softly. They both stayed like this, not moving or speaking for a few seconds, before Riley decided to continue her way to her dorm.

"Where do you think you are going?" Flint was now on his feet, his voice filled with anger.

Riley stopped and closed her eyes, she didn't want to face him, but she couldn't hide anymore.

"I have class." She said, trying to sound indifferent and fearless, before starting to walk again.

"I don't care!" He said harshly, taking firm steps towards her. "You and I are going to have a little chat!" he spat, grabbing her wrist viciously and obliging her to face him. His eyes were narrowed, rigid and burning with wrath. Riley gave a gasp of pain, and tried to pull him off.

"Knock it off, Flint!" But he tightened his grip around her wrist, hurting her even more. "Let go of me!"

"Stop fighting Potter! Don't say I didn't warn you!" His eyes flashed with darkness.

"I didn't do anything, I'm not stupid!" She snapped.

"Don't try to deny it! Jason told us it was you!"

"Oh, did he really? What exactly were his words? Because last I heard he said it was a first year! I don't know if you've noticed, since you're so self-centred, but that includes way more people than me!" She retorted, raising her voice.

"Yeah, Jason said he wasn't going to say who told him in order to protect this person. How convenient for you, isn't it?"

"Well, it's not like you've been careful. Who knows who else saw you two together?"

"You're the one who knew about it!" They both were shouting at each other by now.

"For the last time, Flint, I didn't say anything! Or are you too thick to understand?" Riley didn't know what had come over her, maybe it was the adrenaline flowing through her system, but she didn't feel scared anymore. Marcus, nevertheless, felt his temper flare dangerously, not enjoying at all being insulted by a first year girl. His eyes darkened even more, his jaw tightened.

Riley could feel the pain radiate through her arm. She knew she had already crossed the line, and that the only way to get out of this situation unharmed, was to make him cool down.

"You're hurting me Flint." She said in a calm, almost diplomatic, voice. He narrowed his eyes at her. He was a good 12 inches taller than her. "What are you going to do then, hit me?" Her words made him instantly let go of her wrist, stepping back slightly. But he was still glowering at her. Before any of them could say anything else, a voice emerged from behind them.

"What's going on here?" Both Riley and Marcus turned their heads to see an angry Professor Snape. He had his eyes set on Marcus. "I was wondering why it was taking you so long to get your dream diary, Miss Potter." He said without removing his eyes from Flint. "Mr Flint, I hope you're not skipping class again. My office now, Miss Potter!" He said finally looking at her. Snape threw his cape behind him and headed to his office. Riley glanced at Marcus once again.

"This isn't over!" He said pointing his finger at her face in a menacing way, before walking away from the common room. Once all the tension in her body was gone, she found herself shaking. She followed Snape to his office.

"Sit down." He said at once. Riley sat down on the chair in front of his desk, feeling her hands tremble. "Care to tell me what was that about?"

Riley pondered for a moment. She didn't want to drag Snape into this situation.

"Miss Potter?" He asked again, his patience growing shorter.

"Nothing." She simply said. Snape narrowed his eyes. "Just Flint being a prat." She added quickly.

Snape lifted an eyebrow. "Very well, Miss Potter, if you don't want to tell me what really happened, the problem remains entirely yours. Now, where's this diary, for Merlin's sake!"

"I'll go get it." She forced a half-smile.

"You do that, and try not to get distracted again!"

* * *

Riley left the common room and started to wander, not entirely sure where to go.

"RILEY!" Someone shouted. Fred walked to the direction. He was with George. "Where have you been? You never came back to potions class, you even left your bag behind." He said handing her bag back to her.

"Err… Thanks, I forgot. Hi, George." George gave her a weak smile in response.

"You forgot?" Fred snickered. "That's the lamest excuse not to do your homework I've ever heard."

"No, really. I have a lot in my mind." She answered in a small voice, making Fred's grin falter.

"Is that because of the two Slytherins you were hiding from?" George looked puzzled at his brother, and then back at Riley, as if he was waiting for an explanation.

"Well, I'm not hiding anymore…" Riley sat down on a stair step, Fred sat down next to her.

"What's happened, Riley?" And then, Riley told them everything except her encounter with Flint.

"Wow, you're a natural." George stated.

"Huh?"

"You have a special talent to get into trouble." Fred answered, acquiescing to his brother's logic. Riley put on an annoyed face. "Just kidding."

"You're probably right anyway…" Riley sighed.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, I already tried to tell Flint it wasn't me, but it didn't go very well."

"Maybe you should try to find out who did it." George mused.

"It could be anyone, really… I mean, I'm surprised Fletcher didn't find out sooner."

"Well, did you tell anyone about this?" Fred asked. Riley pondered, she told Adrian, but it couldn't possibly be him… And then, she remembered: Cora!

"I know who did it!" Riley exclaimed, standing up. Fred and George looked at each other. "I have to go." She grabbed her bag and ran off, leaving two puzzled twins behind her.

Riley stormed off to her dorm, hoping that she would find Cora in there, but the room was empty. She sat on the edge of her bed. It would be nice to have something on Cora. She glimpsed at the dorm's door, making sure no one was coming and jumped into Cora's bed. She started poking around in Cora's things. She looked in her nightstand, under her bed, inside her school trunk. But she didn't find anything, all Cora had was clothes and make-up. Sighing in exasperation, she threw herself on her own bed. How could someone be that impersonal and shallow? She stayed there thinking about what she was going to do, when finally, Cora and her Friends arrived in their dorm. Riley got up very fast and pulled her wand out of her vests.

"What do you think you are doing?" Cora asked, promptly pulling her wand out too. They both were glaring and pointing their wands at each other.

"I know it was you, Cora! Who told Fletcher!" Riley spat.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Cora said, playing dumb.

"I'm sure you do, it was your cowardly attempt to pay me back!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

"You little…"

"Well it's all on you and your inability to keep your mouth shut."

"Are you completely insane? Has it ever occurred to you that they might find out it was you?"

"How? Fletcher won't tell them, they clearly don't believe you and no one else knows… Hmm, I'm not worried."

Riley knew she was right, she knew that no one would believe her, if she told people Cora was responsible for it. Furthermore, she didn't have any proof.

"Well, good luck with that Potter!" She said, making her friends snicker.

Riley lowered her wand and gave Cora a dirty look before throwing herself on her bed. She knew that it was naïve on her part, to assume that Cora wouldn't retaliate. However, she had already made Cora pay once, and she would do that again. Although this time she'd make sure that Cora wouldn't want to try anything against her, ever again.

* * *

The next day, after classes were over, Riley was sitting on a bench, watching the twins build a snow fort and throw snowballs at each other. In spite of the snow, the sky was clear and blue. Riley found it very entertaining to watch them fight. Those rare moments of normal, peaceful life were very nice. She opened her History of Magic book and started reading it, if there was one subject she was having trouble with, it was History of Magic. It was almost impossible to stay awake while listening to Professor Binns' droning voice. Suddenly, she felt something very cold hit her shoulder.

"No reading. Come on, have some fun!" came Fred's voice

"I have to read this. We have an exam tomorrow."

"You still have plenty of time to study! You have tonight…" said Fred.

"Tomorrow morning..." George continued.

"Tomorrow lunch…"

"Tomorrow just before the exam."

"Yeah… I don't think that will work for me." Riley giggled.

"Ok, in that case, let me summarise the lesson for you." Fred cleared his throat, making an exaggerated impersonation of an intellectual person "So, a long time ago, a bunch of Gargoyles went on a strike, and everything was doing pretty well, until it wasn't anymore."

"Wow, I'm definitely writing this down."

"Come on!" He insisted, Riley hesitated for a few seconds before closing her book.

"Ok, you win." She put her book back in her bag, and started chasing him with a snowball. At some point, they were both alone, hiding behind a stone wall from George, Fred turned his face to her.

"So, do you know what you are going to do?"

"Not really." Her face saddened. "I can't against two fourth years…"

"You know, George and I always have something on our older brothers in case we ever get into trouble with them. It's very useful."

"It would be really nice to have something on them, but I don't, well not anymore." Riley snorted with laughter, thinking about the irony of it.

"Don't you have anything you can use? A little piece of information about their lives that could be useful?" Riley thought about it for a second, she didn't know much about Flint, it's not like they had ever had a long conversation. All she knew about him was what she heard from other people. Then, she remembered something.

"It might be something."

"Can you use it?"

"I think so." She dropped her eyes for a second before looking up again into his eyes, "Thanks Fred." She let out a smile.

"You're welcome." He smiled back at her, blushing slightly. "Even if I'm not sure why." She was still staring at him, his gaze locked with hers. Fred felt his heart race.

"It's almost dinner time, let's go inside I'm starving!" George called them. Riley quickly averted her eyes from him.

"Yeah, let's celebrate my victory." Fred said, running his hand in his hair.

"You so did not win. You missed almost all the time." George laughed.

"Did not!"

"Riley, who of us won?" George asked her.

"Hmm… I'd say I did." She grinned.

The three went back to the castle, Riley didn't want to seat among the Slytherins, but she couldn't starve herself forever. She hasn't seen Selwyn yet, and deep down she was hoping to avoid her forever, which was of course was ridiculous. But as long as she didn't have anything on Sarah, she couldn't face her. On their way to the Great Hall, they came across Charlie Weasley.

"Hey Charlie, thought you were practising." George said.

"No, the Slytherins booked the pitch." He said frowning, "They're doing it all the time really, and to be honest, it wouldn't be surprising if they just wanted to keep us from practising." He added, rolling his eyes.

"Are they practising now?" Riley asked him. Charlie glared at her, as if he had just realised that she was there with them.

"Yes, that's what I just said." He said coldly. But Riley ignored it.

"I have to go."

"Where?" Fred asked her puzzled.

"To see Flint. It will be better if he's alone."

"Are you sure it's a good idea? Let me go with you." Fred said, concerned.

"No, don't worry, it will be okay." She smiled, trying to reassure him. Fred didn't look convinced, but he let her go.

Riley headed to the Quidditch pitch, hoping practice wasn't finish yet. But she didn't see anyone practising there. Feeling disappointed, she decided to go back to the castle, but stopped when she heard two boys laughing. She turned her head to their direction and recognized Marcus Flint exiting the Locker room along with another player.

"Look who it is! The troublemaker." The other boy gave her a nasty grin.

"Yeah, that's my middle name." She retorted sarcastically, making the boy let out a shout of laughte,r but Flint didn't laugh.

"You must really have a death wish." He gritted his teeth, taking two steps towards her. She saw Flint's friend grin even wider. She looked back at Flint and took two steps towards him.

"You were the one who wanted to chat! So let's chat!" Flint was about to retort, but she cut him off. "First of all, and I'll repeat one more time, so listen carefully, cause it's going to be the last time! It wasn't me who told Fletcher!" She pronounced each syllable slowly, making Marcus Flint frown. "Secondly, you're not going to do anything to me, because thanks to your big discretion," she said doing air quotes on the last word, "if something happens to me, Snape will know it was you, and he really appreciates me, after all, I'm one of his best students!" Riley was forcing it a little bit, she didn't know if Snape would care if something happened to her, but she had to make Flint believe it. Flint's face contorted in a twisted grin.

"Do you think I'm afraid of Snape?" He asked, his friend let out a small laugh.

"Well you should be. May I recall you that he's the one who decides who will be the next Quidditch captain." Flint's grin suddenly faded away.

"Yeah, I thought so!" She said giving him a sardonic smile. "And Finally," She said, taking another step towards him. "I'm not a bloody kitten!"

With that, Riley left the Quidditch pitch smiling to herself. She even heard Flint's friend laugh harder "Fierce little bird, I like that." She hoped that Flint would take her threat seriously. Now she only had Sarah left to deal with, and it wasn't something she was looking forward to.

* * *

Snape was in the headmaster's office, sitting across him. He impatiently stared, as the Headmaster read the black diary that belonged to Riley Potter. It was completely useless to him. So, the girl was having nightmares, plenty of people have nightmares. There's nothing to make a big deal about.

He studied the headmaster's expression. It was almost impossible to tell what Dumbledore was thinking. So, he just waited. Dumbledore finally closed the diary.

"Did you read this, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, putting the diary on his desk.

"Obviously."

"What do you think about it?"

"Just dreams, nothing more." He answered, his expression uninterested.

"I have my doubts. There's a pattern in it, don't you find it curious? And I might add that I find it very impressive the way she describes Voldemort's appearance."

"She often dreams about the Dark lord which seems understandable, after all she saw him murder Lily. Do you think they mean something more?"

"Perhaps, Severus, Perhaps. But for now, let's just wait. You can give Riley her diary back."

* * *

The bathroom was cold and poorly illuminated. Riley chose the bathtub located at the back of the bathroom. It was hidden from the rest of the bathroom, and this was exactly what she needed at the moment. Some time alone. She quickly undressed herself and entered into the tub. The water was very hot against her skin, but she didn't mind. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the quietness.

Riley was almost falling asleep in the bathtub when she heard some people coming into the bathroom. She recognised Selwyn's voice, and lowered her head so the border of the bathtub would hide her face.

"I tried to talk to Marcus, but he's ignoring me!"

"Well, this isn't really surprising, is it?" Riley's heard another girl say. "But what about Jason?"

"What about him? We are not together anymore!"

"Yeah, I figured that much. But did you try to apologize?"

"Yes, but he won't talk to me. You know that little girl will pay for this!" Sarah said in a cold tone. Riley instantly shut her eyes harder, trying to figure out what to do. She tried not to make any noise. She glimpsed at where Sarah was standing, she was on the opposite side of the bathroom. Riley turned her eyes towards the door, she reckoned that she would have the time to walk away without Sarah noticing her. So, she stood up from the bathtub and put her clothes on very quickly. She started to walk away when she let one of her shoes fall to the ground. She glanced at Sarah who was now staring at her.

"Potter." She said, grinning.

* * *

Thanks for reviewing :)


	8. Chapter 7: The perfect plan - Part 1

**Chapter 7: The perfect plan – Part 1**

Riley stood up from the bathtub and put her clothes on very quickly. She started to walk away when she let one of her shoes fall to the ground. She glanced at Sarah who was now staring at her.

"Potter." She said, grinning.

Riley stood there, staring at her but didn't say a thing.

"Just the girl I wanted to see." Her grin grew wider.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, I think you know!" Suddenly her grin turned into a frown.

"I really don't." Riley said, trying not to let any emotion peek through her expression. However, it annoyed Sarah even more.

"I should hex you! I should turn you into a creepy little rat!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes. "Or maybe, I should humiliate you in front of all students. Do you prefer to be naked in front of them or that I shave your hair?"

"It wasn't me, Sarah." Riley said, in a calm voice.

"You don't say."

"Think about it, all I asked you was to stay away from Claire, and apparently you did. I know it, because Claire told me that you've been oddly nicer to her lately." Selwyn grimaced. "So, why in earth would I tell him? This was my only advantage against you."

Sarah Selwyn considered it for a moment, looking doubtfully at Riley.

"Flint didn't believe me, but I've always thought you to be smarter than him." She added cautiously.

Sarah glanced at her friend, who shrugged in response, and then back at Riley.

"Well Potter, I don't know if what you're saying is true, all I know is that, you knew about it, and now Jason knows about it. And even if you didn't tell him, maybe you told another person."

Riley lowered her eyes to the floor. Sarah wasn't wrong, Riley was a little responsible for it. She did tell Adrian after all, and she was careless enough to let Cora know.

"But, you know, I'm feeling kind of generous, Potter." Riley lifted her eyes back to Sarah's face. "I'll give you a chance to make it up to me." Riley frowned, this couldn't be any good.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to convince Marcus to talk to me again. If you do that, everything will be forgotten, if you don't, well…"

"How am I supposed to do it? He hates me! You are not choosing the right person for the job."

"Well, one of the players told me that you convinced him not to do anything against you, and I have to admit, it's very impressive. Marcus never lets anyone tell him what to do."

"Yes, I threatened him. That's the reason why he hates me." Her voice came in an anguished breath.

"In this case, threaten him if you have to, I don't care, as long as he talks to me again. You have two weeks." With that, Sarah and her Friend left the bathroom leaving a stunned Riley behind.

Riley caught her breath, trying to understand what had just happened. She had no idea Sarah was so in love with Marcus. She first thought that Sarah was only doing it for fun, because she was one of those kind of girls who liked to prove they could have anyone. But she wasn't, she wanted him, and only him. However, Flint didn't seem to want her in that way. So, she started dating Fletcher. This was so messed up. How was she supposed to convince Flint to talk to Sarah, if he wasn't talking to her either?

Riley entered the Slytherin common room that evening, thinking about a way to convince Flint to talk to Sarah again. It was almost impossible, she wondered if she could add this "little" request in her threat. But she didn't want to risk crumbling everything down. She needed another plan. What if she got Marcus drunk? Drunk people tends to talk too much, don't they? Then, she remembered that it would be impossible to her to buy firewhisky, leaving alone getting it into the school. Shoving that last thought away, she decided to go to bed, maybe a good night of sleep was all she needed.

"Riley, can I talk to you?" A voice broke her out of her thoughts. It was Adrian.

"What do you want?" She asked sharply.

"I wanted to apologize to you. I know I was a jerk." Riley studied him for a short moment. He looked sincere.

"Apologies accepted." His face brightened up.

"Does that mean we're friends again?"

"No." His small smile was quickly turned into a puzzled expression.

"No?"

"Look Adrian, I'm doing you a favour. You're right, I'm not like the other Slytherins, and I don't want to be like them. You already have Montague and your other roommates you don't need me. And if it's just you feeling guilty, well don't, cause I'm fine."

"Maybe I just want to be your friend." He made a clumsy hand gesture, as if he wanted to touch her shoulder, but changed his mind. Instead he put his hand on the back of his head.

"Why would you want that?" She said. He dropped his arms in exasperation.

"I don't know… I feel like I can talk to you, you know… without being judged."

"That's because I'm a nice person, unlike your friends."

"I know…" He said, with his head lowered.

"You clearly don't know what you want. I'm sorry but I can be friends with someone that could stab me in the back at any time."

He was about to retort, but she cut him off with her hand. Riley knew, she was being hard on him. But she didn't need this kind of friendship in her life. She needed people she could trust.

* * *

The next day, Riley was with Fred in the corridor. At first she didn't want to tell him her newest problem. But after his constant insistence, she finally told him everything. It was very sweet of him, to care for her like that. She felt very grateful to have him as a friend.

"…and now she wants me to play cupid for her!"

"Maybe you should try a love potion!" Fred laughed aloud.

"This isn't funny Fred!"

"Well, I'm trying to help you. Are you really going to do that?"

"I was thinking that I was going to ask a sixth year girl I know for help."

"Hold this…" Fred handed her a wand "Yeah, you could do that."

"Err… Who's wand is this?"

"Warrington, that boy in Slytherin. He's right there." She looked over where he was pointing at. But she saw Warrington holding a wand.

"He's holding his wand, Fred." She stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Just watch." Fred grinned.

Suddenly, Warrington tried to use his wand to jinx one Gryffindor who was passing by him, but instead his wand turned into a carrot, and rabbit's ears appeared on his head, making all the students who were watching the scene laugh.

"Carrot wand." Fred's grin grew wider.

"You're mental Fred Weasley." She chortled.

"My insanity is very sane, thank you very much."

Meanwhile, Marcus Flint was in the Slytherin common room, lying on the leather couch alone. He was trying to do his Charms homework, but couldn't focus. He had been feeling extremely sulky, lately. His best friend wasn't speaking with him anymore. Sarah was always following him around, even if he acted like a jerk to her. He felt a little guilty for pushing her away from his life like that, but it wasn't going to help Jason talk to him again. Worst of all, he had been threatened by a little girl. That little girl Potter, who does she think she is? A first year girl, threatening him, Marcus Flint. The thought of her made him unconsciously clench his fists. He thought about the possibility that she's been bluffing. But he couldn't risk losing Quidditch.

By the time he wrote the fourth line of his essay, his other friend, Magnus Hoover, entered the common room. He was a skinny boy, not very tall who always had a grumpy expression on his face.

"Hey. I was just with Jason." Ever since Jason discovered the truth, Magnus had been divided between his two friends. Magnus was fine, a little boring for Marcus' taste, which was fine when they were all together but when there were only the two of them, it wasn't very entertaining.

"Still mad?" Marcus asked without taking his eyes from his piece of parchment.

"Yes." Magnus sat on the couch opposite to where Marcus was. "But Sarah asked for you, like repeatedly." Marcus couldn't help but to roll his eyes.

"She has to stop! This is the only way Jason will speak to any of us again."

"I don't think she cares."

"Well, I do!"

"You know, I think that she really likes you."

"I told her, from the beginning that I didn't want a girlfriend, she knew it before she started dating Jason."

"Why did you do this anyway?" Marcus didn't answer, instead he pretended to be focusing on his essay.

"Charms homework used to be so simple, now Flitwick is just like McGonagall."

"Marcus!"

"I don't know ok?" Marcus answered raising his voice. "I wanted a girl who wouldn't want anything serious. So a girl who was already in a relationship would be ideal, at least I thought so."

"But you could've chosen any girl, why your mate's girlfriend?"

"Because. Because she was there, willing to do it." Marcus answered, massaging his forehead.

"Well, it was really stupid." His friend said, not realising that Marcus was fighting with all his strength not to punch someone. "Anyway can I borrow your Quidditch gloves?"

Marcus stared at his friend incredulous, but at that moment he would do anything to get Magnus away from him.

* * *

After Herbology class, Riley was walking back to the castle alone. In her way back, she spotted Sarah Selwyn along with her friend arguing with Claire Ackers and Tonks. Riley approached the girls slowly.

"You know, I saw your boyfriend, that Weasley boy the other day, flirting with another girl. I guess he's already tired of you." That goes without saying that since Jason found out the truth, Sarah had come back to her usual spiteful self, and Claire was being her favourite target, once again.

"You mean, like your boyfriend? Or the other boy you've been snugging with." Claire retorted. Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"Watch your tongue Ackers, or something really bad might happen."

"Was that a threat? Because If it was, I'll be just glad to put you on detention." Claire said, in a very firm voice. Sarah gave her a nasty grin and walked away with her friend. Once the two girls were sufficiently far away, Riley approached the two Hufflepuffs.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey little girl." Tonks smiled at her.

"Hey Riley." Claire only gave her a half-smile.

"Is everything ok? I saw you two with Selwyn."

"Yes, well, It's just Selwyn being Selwyn. She was bearable for a while but now it seems like she found her old self again."

"Maybe she was just sick." Tonks mused.

"No, she wasn't." Riley said making the two girls cast their eyes in her direction. "She was being nice because I asked her to."

"You what?" Tonks looked at her with an incredulous face drawn on her face, and Riley explained what happened to them.

"Oh, Riley, you didn't have to do it!" Claire smiled uncomfortable at her, giving her a hug.

"Don't worry."

"And now you're in trouble. I feel really bad! But she's threatened you, I can give her detention if you want to."

"Unless you put her inside a pit for the whole school year, I don't think that it will help me."

"I don't know what we can do. She asked you to ensure that Flint talks to her again. That's twisted, as if you could do that."

"A love potion?" Riley joked, in an attempt to lighten the mood, remembering what Fred said. Claire laughed, but Tonks's eyes widened.

"That's actually not a bad idea!"

"What?" The two other girls asked in unison.

"What are you talking about, Tonks?" Claire asked, with a puzzled face.

"Think about it, you give Flint a love potion, he'll obviously talk to Sarah again, she'll be happy, and by the time the potion's effects goes off, she'll think that Flint changed his mind, so it will be her fault, not yours." Riley pondered for a moment, it was actually not a bad idea, but there was still something bothering her about this plan.

"But love potions are too obvious, Sarah will know that something is wrong."

"Not necessarily, you just have to make a weaker love potion, so, he'll not fall deeply in love with her, but he'll appreciate her enough to want to talk to her again."

"Do you think it will work?" Riley asked, still sceptical.

"I think this is the best chance you have kid."

* * *

Later that day, Riley was in the library trying to find a potion book with the instructions for a love potion. She told Fred about the plan, hoping he would talk her off it. But instead he said it was brilliant, actually he said he was brilliant for finding this plan, in the first place. Consequently, she was determined to go forward with it. She finally grabbed the "Most extraordinary and powerful potions".

 _ **Amortentia**_

 _Amortentia, also known as Potion Love, will make the drinker hold an obsession_

 _for the person who gave it to him/her. It is a_ _powerful and highly_

 _dangerous potion. However, Amortentia does not create_

 _true love, only a simple imitation._

 _The effects of Amortentia are limited in time. Therefore, it is essential that_

 _the drinker takes the potion at least every 24 hours. The effect_

 _degree will depend on the weight of the drinker_

 _and also on the appearance of the brewer._

 _Ingredients:_

 _Rose thorns_

 _E_ _ssence of red rose_

 _Pearl dust_

 _Moonstone_

 _Peppermint_

 _Brewer's Strand of hair_

 _Instructions:_

 _-Set water to boil_

 _smash and add 7 rose thorns per pound of the drinker_

 _add 8 drops of essence of red rose per pound of the drinker_

 _after 15 minutes, reduce heat slightly_

 _add a teaspoon per pound of the drinker of Pearl dust five times every 4 minutes_

 _add one tablespoon per pound of the drinker of powdered Moonstone_

 _reduce heat once more_

 _add a half teaspoon per pound of the drinker of Peppermint_

 _let it rest for seven days_

 _add your strand of hair_

Riley read the instructions, it didn't seem that hard, comparing to the sleeping Potion she had been brewing for the last couples of months. She decided then, to take a shot. All she had to do was to find the ingredients and a place for doing it. Concerning the ingredients, she had no choice but to take them from Snape's cupboard, the only time she could do it was during her "detentions" while she was brewing her Sleeping potion. She would also be needing a strand of hair from Sarah. But it shouldn't be that hard to get, she could find some on her clothes, she knew where her dorm was so it would be easy.

Friday afternoon, Riley was in the potions classroom brewing her Sleeping potion. She had asked Fred to create a diversion, so he and George let off some Dungbombs in front of the door, forcing Snape to go outside of the classroom to try to catch whoever was responsible for it and put this person in detention for at least one month. Riley took this opportunity to put the love potion's ingredients in her bag.

"Did you catch who did this?" Riley asked once he had come back inside of the classroom.

"No." He snapped. "However, I know who it was." He added, looking straight at her.

Riley quickly diverted her eyes from his, as if she was preventing him from reading her mind. It was nice of Fred to risk himself trying to help her. But when she had asked him to do it, he didn't seem reluctant at all. In fact, he felt thrilled. He instantaneously told George, and both of them felt extremely glad to have an opportunity to prank Snape.

"Are you going to do something with them?" Riley asked, trying to hide her concern.

"I need proof before I do anything. But I can guarantee you that the minute I catch them in the act, they'll wish they had never come to this school."

Riley swallowed hard and made a mental note to warn the twins to be careful around Snape.

* * *

After the love potion was ready, Riley filled some chocolates with it, put them inside a heart-shaped box, and wrote a note that said "To the hottest boy in school". She knew that a boy like Flint liked to be flattered. Riley waited until there was no one left in the common room and went to the Boys' dorm. But when she arrived in the fourth years' dorm she realised that she didn't know which bed was Marcus'. So, she looked around searching for hints, and saw a pair of Quidditch gloves upon one of the beds. Marcus was the only fourth year who played Quidditch in Slytherin, therefore she put the chocolate box on that bed.

She exited the common room very fast, she was already late for Charms class.

"Sorry Professor." Riley said entering the Charms classroom.

"Oh, Miss Potter, you scared me!" Professor Flitwick jumped with a start. "Please take a seat, and five points from Slytherin for being late. Now, as I was saying…"

Riley sat on the only chair available, and unfortunately for her, it was behind Montague and Adrian.

"Well played Potter!" Montague spat sarcastically.

"Leave her alone Graham." Adrian said, receiving a puzzled look from his friend and from Riley. But Adrian didn't look back at them, he was busy copying what Flitwick was writing on the board. Montague scowled at Riley one more time and started to copy the lesson as well.

Riley glanced at Fred. He was sitting next to George and Lee. When their eyes met, she smiled and nodded slightly. He smiled back and winked at her. Thinking about it, it was a stupid plan. Of course Sarah would see that something was wrong with Flint. But after all, she did tell Riley to use any way possible to make him talk to her again.

When Charms class was over. Riley left the classroom with Fred, George and Lee, who still didn't like Riley. Fred, on the other hand, was spending more and more time with her. It was nice, especially as she didn't have any friends in Slytherin anymore.

"So are you going to the Slytherin common room now? To see if it worked?" Fred asked her.

"Now?" He nodded, excited.

"I'd come with you but I can go in there." He shrugged. "But I can wait outside if you want to."

"Would you do that?"

"Of course. George?"

"Definitely."

With the two boys waiting outside, Riley entered the common room. She had just entered the passage when she heard loud voices coming from the main room. She approached the scene and saw some students in there, she recognized among them, Sarah Selwyn, Jason Fletcher, and a fourth year boy she didn't know the name. She looked around and saw Marcus Flint watching the scene from far away.

The boy had a weird expression on his face, as he stared at Sarah.

"Sarah, I love you, I really do! Let's not hide our love. Not anymore." The boy said loudly enough to hold the attention of everyone in there.

Riley froze, her eyes wide. _Uh-oh!_

* * *

Thanks for reviewing :) _  
_


	9. Chapter 8: The perfect plan - Part 2

**Chapter 8: The perfect plan – Part 2**

"Sarah, I love you, I really do! Let's not hide our love. Not anymore." The boy said loudly enough to hold the attention of everyone in there.

Riley froze, her eyes wide. _Uh-oh!_

"Get off me!" Sarah snapped.

"I can believe it, so you were not only cheating on me with Marcus, but with him too!" Jason howled.

"Of course not, don't be silly!"

"My two best friends, you could have picked anyone, and you chose them!"

"Nothing happened between Magnus and me. I don't know why he's acting like this!" She turned to Magnus. "What's going on with you?"

"I love you Sarah." He said with a dumb expression on his face.

Suddenly, Marcus Flint rose from his chair and went towards his friends. He whispered something to them, but Riley couldn't hear what. Therefore, she just watched them attentively. As soon as Flint stopped speaking, Sarah turned her head towards Riley and scowled.

Riley who didn't really want to face all the Slytherins at once, thought that it would be best to leave the common room. She exited the common room looking for a familiar face, but didn't have much time to do so because she felt someone grabbing her arm.

"Potter!" It was Sarah. "Did you give Magnus a love potion on my behalf?"

"What makes you say that?" Riley asked, making an astonished face.

"Marcus told us that he found some chocolates in their dorm, and I saw you taking something of my robes, it was a strand of my hair, wasn't it?" Riley remained silent. "Aren't you even going to try to deny it?"

"No."

"No?"

"No, you are right. I did make the love potion, but it was for Flint."

"Are you crazy?" Sarah was shouting. "I never asked you to do it! What were you thinking? Are you really that stupid? A love potion, that's for pathetic girls!"

Riley was about to retort but someone behind her cut her off.

"Well, you're pathetic. Riley just wanted to have a laugh." Riley glanced behind her and saw Tonks.

"Excuse me?" Sarah asked, impatiently.

"You heard me. To be fair, the love potion was my idea, but it was Riley who prepared it. That's right, a first year girl prepared by her own a love potion. Are you capable of doing it, Selwyn? She's not scared of you, she has plenty of abilities and skills, or maybe you've forgotten who her family is, who her brother is. I wouldn't mess with her if I were you." Riley was speechless she couldn't believe what she had just heard, but she was not the only one. Sarah had a weird expression on her face, like she didn't know what to do or to say. Riley would have never dared to try something that senseless.

"You know what, it doesn't matter anyhow." Sarah finally said. "You're completely useless to me, Potter!" And she left both girls standing in front of the common room.

"I can't believe it actually worked!" Riley said with a weird grin.

"I can't believe you never used it to your advantage."

"Well, I have no special skills, I'm just good with potions, that's all." Riley shrugged.

"Maybe, but you are still sisters with the boy who defeated one of the most powerful wizards in the world."

"I guess…" Riley was still not convinced, but as long as it worked, she'd go along with it.

"Look, people already think you came from a family of powerful dark wizards… which I know is ridiculous!" She quickly added when Riley frowned. "But well, you have to understand them, and after what you did to that girl in your year."

"I never thought that people feared my family." She said, shocked.

"Well your brother did something really amazing. But what I'm saying is that you can always use it in your favour."

"And make people hate me even more?"

"Well I'm not saying you have to do this to everyone, just to those who are giving you a hard time!" She said, putting her hands on her waist and rolling her eyes. "I have to go now, little girl. Glad it all worked out." Tonks winked before walking away.

"Riley, what happened? Did it work?" Fred had just appeared beside her.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Riley looked at him and smiled softly.

"Oh, that's good." They both stared at each other without saying anything. "So… Are you going to give me any details?"

"Sure, but first can I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

"Are people afraid of me?" She asked, reluctantly.

"What?"

"Are they… You know, because of who I am?" She added cautiously.

"A first year Slytherin?" He chuckled. "Yeah, people are terrified." Riley rolled her eyes.

"A Potter."

"Oh, that." He said, giggling.

"Would you stop laughing! I'm serious!" Riley glowered.

"Ok, seriously?" She nodded "I may have overheard some Gryffindors say that maybe you and your brother were powerful wizards and even dark wizards, you know since you're a Slytherin and everything…"

"Well, my brother's not a Slytherin, neither were my mom and dad! They actually fought against Vol… Against You-Know-Who."

"I know that, I'm not afraid of you. I can't help what other people think!" He said defensively.

"Sorry."

"Look Riley. People don't know you, I'm sure that once they get to know you, they'll see how nice you are."

' _Maybe I shouldn't be that nice'_ Riley thought feeling angry with all those Gryffindors.

* * *

A few days had passed, and Riley couldn't believe what being sisters with _"the-boy-who-lived"_ was doing for her. Thanks to Tonks, she had learnt how to use it to her advantage. Therefore, a considerable amount of students were treating her differently - with more respect and admiration - including some Slytherins. It was something she had never experienced before. At first, she felt a little guilty for taking advantage of such tragedy. But then, she convinced herself that it was only for her own protection. Moreover, all the advantages that it brought to her made her reluctance fade away, and to be honest, she was enjoying it too much.

No more worries about the Slytherins being mean to her. She had told Cora about her encounter with Selwyn, she even added that Sarah was dying to make someone pay for what had happened, and that it would be very easy to convince her that Cora was the one who was responsible for it. As a result, Cora was being extremely nice to Riley, it was actually hilarious to watch. Even Montague wasn't mocking her anymore, he would still give her dirty looks, but nothing more than that. Sarah was acting as if Riley was invisible, she would never admit that she was afraid of a first year, but it was good enough. Everything was fine in her life, she had friends she liked, friends she could count on. She had good marks. There was only one thing missing, something she had left aside with all the mess going on with her. Quidditch. But unfortunately for her, she had not been very nice to the person who could make this happen.

Riley entered her common room looking for Marcus Flint, but didn't find him in there. She sighed deeply, knowing that she would have to ask one of her housemates. She saw Adrian making his homework alone. He would be the least worst.

"Hi." She said, a bit more coldly than what she had intended. Adrian looked at her and closed his book, quickly raising from his chair.

"Hi." He smiled at her.

"Do you know where Flint is?"

"I don't know. Have you tried the Quidditch pitch?" The Quidditch pitch, of course.

"I'll try that, thanks." She said, walking away from him.

"Riley, wait!" He called after her. She stopped and turned around. "I just wanted to say that, I thought a lot about what you said to me and my decision is that I want to be your friend. I'm sorry for how I acted. Please!"

Now that Riley wasn't having problems anymore, she realised how unfair she had been to him. Of course, he had screwed up, but everyone deserved a second chance. She had learnt that the hard way.

"Ok." She gave him a gentle smile. "We can be friends again. Although I have to get going, see ya!"

"All right." He smiled back at her. "Do you want me to wait for you for dinner?"

"Sure." She smiled again, before walking away.

When she arrived at the Quidditch pitch, she found it empty, except for Marcus Flint, who was sitting on the stand. He didn't notice her as she approached him, completely lost in his thoughts. He wasn't in his Quidditch robes, but his broom was lying beside him. Riley sat quietly next to him.

"Hey." She said. He turned his head towards her in surprise and then, looked around him, as if he was trying to find an explanation for why she was there.

"What do you want?" He asked, scowling at her.

"I just wanted to make peace. This whole story is absurd, I never meant for any of this to happen." She said hopefully, but Flint gave her a cold laugh in response.

"Make peace…" He repeated her words, shaking his head. "Why would I want to do that? You gave me nothing but a headache since you arrived here."

"Why do you hate me so much?"

"Why?" He asked with his eyes wide. "Are you kidding me?"

"Because I threatened you? I was only protecting myself!"

"Well, you wouldn't have had to protect yourself if you had kept your mouth shut in the first place!"

"I didn't tell anyone! Why don't you believe me?" He stared at her eyes for a moment.

"It doesn't matter anyway." He said, leaning back with his hands on his face.

"I'm sure Fletcher will come around. I mean, eventually. I messed up with one of my friends once too, but now we're friends again." He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Did you eat his pop stickle, and then he wasn't speaking to you anymore?" He asked sarcastically. "This is not a child problem."

"You're only 3 years older than me!"

"Have you even kissed a boy yet?"

"No…" She said softly, feeling her cheeks burn. Riley was expecting a nasty retort, but he only sighed.

"Why do you care anyway?" He said staring at her.

"What?"

"I mean, why are you here? We don't have to like each other. We're not fucking Hufflepuffs."

Riley diverted her eyes from his, trying to find something to say. He was right, there was no good explanation for why she was trying to make amends with him. Suddenly, Flint's eyes widened and a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"You want to play Quidditch. Don't you?" He asked in a cheeky tone.

"No, I…" She searched for another excuse, but nothing crossed her mind.

"I think you do. That's why you want us to be in good terms." He laughed out loud. "Oh, this is so good."

"That's not why! I… I just don't like having enemies, that's all." She added, desperately. Maybe it would work, it was plausible after all. Flint studied her for a short moment.

"All right then. I'm not mad at you anymore." He said through his grin. "I won't take girls on my team, though. But feel free to come to cheer for us, yeah?" He said while picking up his broom and leaving Riley alone in there.

* * *

Riley started to walk back to the castle feeling terrible. She didn't know whether he meant it. Then, she remembered what Tonks had told her, about Slytherins not having any girls on their team. She knew that being sisters with Harry wouldn't do much for her in this particular case, not with Flint anyway. She was so angry with him. He was a jerk. A selfish, arrogant, stupid jerk. He deserved everything he got.

She spotted Fred and George from far. They were sitting by the lake, whispering at each other, even if there was no one around them.

"Hello boys, what are you doing?" She sat next to them. Being with the twins, always made her feel better. She needed more than anything to forget about stupid Flint.

"Planning our masterpiece." George said.

"Masterpiece?"

"Yes. See, the school year is almost finished, and George and I think that we ought to leave our signature in here."

"Meaning?"

"Something memorable!" Fred said.

"Unforgettable." George added.

"And what's the big plan?"

"Sorry, can't tell!"

"What? Why not?" Riley asked, frowning.

"So you won't have the chance to "help" us." George said, receiving a glare from his brother. "Just kidding."

"Ah, you don't have to worry. I'm leaving this life behind me."

"Why?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow. "You'll miss all the fun."

"Well, I think I've had enough fun. Thank you." Riley said, sarcastically.

"Your loss." Fred shrugged.

"Are you serious about this?" George asked her.

"Yes, pretty much. I don't want any more trouble with the Slytherins. I still have to coexist with them for the next six years." She said grumpily.

"Fair enough." Fred said, making a small whirlpool on the lake with his wand. "So Riley, I was wondering, maybe we can see each other during the holidays." Riley noticed that his ears were turning red.

"Oh yes, sure, why not." She smiled gently et him.

"Maybe you could come over to my house. It's a simple house, very modest, but there's a lake nearby, sometimes we go there with my brothers, and there's also a place where we can play Quidditch…" Fred was talking very fast.

"I'll have to ask my godfather, I don't know if he'll let me."

"Oh yeah, of course." He said, turning his face away from hers.

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just that, well, he doesn't know you nor your family."

"I understand." He added quickly. "It was just a thought."

"I'll ask him, I promise."

"Good." He said. "We can also meet in Diagon Alley, we can have some ice-cream or something."

"We'll figure out something." She smiled at him.

"I hope so." He smiled back at her.

"I have to go now, gotta some homework to do." The two boys nodded, Riley smiled at Fred one more time and walked away.

" _Please Riley, come to my house, I can show you my gnomes and then we can snug all day."_ George mocked his brother, making kiss sounds.

"Shut up." Fred scowled at his twin.

"Oh please, just admit already that you fancy her."

"She's fun, I like her as a friend."

"Are you serious? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because there's nothing to tell!"

"All right, all right. So would you mind if I dated her?" George asked, making Fred frown his eyebrows.

"Do you want to date her?"

"I don't know, maybe. If you don't mind of course."

"I don't." Fred snapped.

* * *

The library was quieter than usual, with final exams coming up, everyone was concentrating very hard on their books. Riley was sitting alone, Fred and George were with their Gryffindor friends. Fred had asked her to join them, but after receiving a glare from both Angelina and Lee, she made up some lame excuse. She didn't mind though, she studied better alone, with no distractions. She also spotted Adrian sitting with his roommates. It was hard not having any Slytherins friends, not having anyone to talk to in the common room, but she wasn't complaining, it could have been a lot worse. When her stomach started rumbling, she closed her book and headed to the Great Hall. She was walking pass the Slytherin table, looking for an empty seat, away from the other students if possible.

"Hello." A blonde girl, who had a face like an angel, was staring at her, smiling. "Sit with us."

Riley looked around her, as if she couldn't believe that a Slytherin was deliberately talking to her, in a gentle way. She sat down cautiously.

"Hi, my name's Lauren Harley and those are April Milburn and Melinda Rowle." Riley glanced at the other girls. One of them had short black hair and deep blue eyes and the other one was a black girl with short curly hair.

"Hi… I'm Riley Potter."

"We know." Lauren smiled. "Well, usually we don't do this but…" she turned her head to two other girls. "you can sit with us if you want to." Riley looked at her confused. Why was this girl being nice to her?

"Err… Thanks." She forced a smile.

"I know, it's kind of unexpected, we're second years, you're only a first year. But well… We can make an exception for important people."

"Important?" Everything had come clear to Riley.

"Yes. So, what do you think?" Riley wasn't sure what to say. She didn't like that those girls were only talking to her because they thought she was somehow powerful. But well, she already had true friends. Plus, she was in Slytherin, she had to get used to this kind of thing.

"Su… Sure." She stammered.

"Good." The girl deepened her smile. "So, now that we're friends, we can share things with each other. We were just talking about Melinda's crush on Flint."

"Flint?" Riley asked stunned. She couldn't understand why everyone fancied Flint.

"Yeah, it's stupid I know…" Melinda giggled, her cheeks red as cherries. "But his body…"

"I still can't believe he was secretly with Sarah Selwyn." Lauren turned her head towards Riley. "It was very brave of you to tell everyone about them." Riley opened her mouth to deny it, but after a short reflexion she thought it would be better to leave it alone. Instead she turned her head to Melinda.

"Flint's a bastard." She said, making Melinda frown. But Lauren just laughed.

"I like you Riley Potter." She winked at Riley. "So, what about you? Do you fancy someone?"

"No, I'm still young for this kind of stuff."

"I'm not asking you if you want to marry someone." She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, I know but… No, I don't fancy anyone." She added quickly, staring at her plate.

"Really? Cause I often see you with that Weasley boy."

"Oh no, there's nothing between us." Riley said, but she could feel her cheeks burn.

"Oh, Good."

"We're friends though." Riley retorted dryly.

"Oh don't get me wrong. It's just that, you need someone who'll be able to buy you stuff. I mean, you don't want to go to a restaurant and pay for it, do you?" This conversation was starting to get Riley uncomfortable. After all, she wasn't wealthy either. She had money in Gringotts, money her parents have left her and Harry. But Remus and Lyall never let her use it, they said she should keep it for later.

"I guess not…"

"Don't worry, now you have us to look after you." Lauren said, lifting the corner of her lip in a smirk.

* * *

School was finally over, and everyone was getting ready to go home. Riley had packed her stuff the day before. She was really looking forward to go home. It had been a very long year. She arrived in the Great Hall very early to have breakfast. She still had to go to Snape's office to take enough Sleeping potion to go through the summer. After breakfast she went to his office. She knocked his door.

"Come in." He said. She entered his office.

"I came to take the Sleeping Potion."

"Of course." He gave her a cold smile. "But first, I would like you to sit down." Riley frowned and sat down, she didn't like where this was going.

"You know, some ingredients went missing from my cupboard."

"Really?" Riley asked, trying to sound indifferent.

" _Really_." He answered in a mocking way.

"Ingredients that are usually used to make a love potion, which is fun because I had to give Mister Hoover an antidote for it."

"That's very strange." Riley said staring at the ground.

"Isn't it?" He got up from his chair, and started to walk around his office. "First I thought that you wouldn't dare to stole from me. But then, strange rumours began to spread." Riley could feel that he was standing just behind her. "The Great Witch Potter! I don't see why you need me, with all your abilities. I hope you enjoy this potion, cause it will be the last one I'll give you."

"But…"

"You think you're so special don't know? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you're just an arrogant little girl, who thinks she can get anything she wants, just like your father." He snapped. Riley was speechless. She thought that he would just give her detention, and not attack her like he was doing. She was almost believing what Dumbledore had said, that Snape did appreciate her. Guess he was wrong. She took the vial from his hands and ran off his office. Feeling angry and sad.

Riley took her school trunk and went to take one of the school carriages.

"Riley!" A voice came from behind her.

"Hey Fred. How are you doing?"

"Great." He gave her a smile. "Listen, do you want to sit with us?"

"Oh, I don't know." She looked around, and saw the Gryffindor gang, all together. "Your friends don't like me, Fred."

"Nonsense!" Riley raised an eyebrow. "Ok, maybe they don't like you so much." He added, making Riley roll her eyes. "But I can sit with you, without them."

"Just the two of us?"

"Well, if you want to." Riley smiled, he was so nice. "I don't want you to be alone." However, those last words made her face fell. She didn't need any kind of charity.

"You know I have other friends beside you!" She spat.

"Oh, I know you do, I didn't mean it!"

"Look Fred, you go to sit with your Gryffindor Friends. I have people who are waiting for me anyway!"

"Fine…" He said puzzled.

"See you."

Riley saw her newest friends waving at her, and joined them. When she was inside the carriage, she shot a last glance at the castle. She would miss it after all.

* * *

So first year is over, and I think that the second year will be a little shorter than the first one.

I'll try to update at least once a week. Thanks so much for reviewing, it motivates me :)


	10. Chapter 9: Summer Break

**Chapter 9: Summer Break**

The summer holidays were half over, and Riley found herself surprisingly missing school. She hadn't seen any of her friends, nor any other person than Remus and Lyall. She did enjoy to spend time with both of them, but now that she had experienced this new world, her pre-Hogwarts life was not as good as before. Therefore, she had reached a new level of boredom that even riding her broom wasn't helping.

One particularly night, Riley was lying in her bed, flipping through an astronomy book. But, she didn't bother to read it. She was just going through the moving images, wondering what it would feel like to be there. The sound of something hitting her window, made her startle. She looked at its direction, and saw a brown owl crushed against it. She quickly got to her feet and opened the window, allowing the owl to enter her bedroom. Riley's lips curled into a smile as she recognized the owl. She took the letter the owl was carrying and fed him with a biscuit.

 _Dear Riley,_

 _I hope you're doing fine and enjoying your holidays. I was wondering if you could come and visit_ _me_ (crossed out) _us in our house. I told my parents about you and they are looking forward to meet you (not only because of your last name, I swear). Anyway, I would have asked you earlier, but things here were pretty tense with my brother Charlie going to Romania to study dragons, mom went crazy, she was really expecting him to find a job in the Ministry, like dad. She even threatened to hide all his belongings, but he went anyway. So now, there are only me and George, Percy (I think you've met him), and my other two siblings Ronniekins and Ginny. You'll like them. Hope to hear from you soon!_

 _Fred_

Riley smiled at his letter. When she hadn't received any news from him, she thought that maybe he had forgotten about her, about his proposition. It would be very nice to see him again, away from Hogwarts and away from all his Gryffindor friends. She read his letter over and over, smiling to herself. She truly hoped Remus would say yes.

Riley was about to leave her room, when another owl landed on her window. She had never seen an owl like this before, with purple plumage. She wondered if it was some kind of incantation. She approached the owl and took the letter, giving him a biscuit as she usually did. But the owl arrogantly refused and immediately took off. Riley frowned and turned her head at Errol, who had passed out on her bed.

"At least, you're polite." She opened the envelop and started to read the pink parchment.

 _Dear Riley,_

 _As you may know, my birthday is coming up in a couple of days and to celebrate it, I'm throwing a slumber party this Friday. It's with great pleasure that I inform you that you have been invited. Please let me know as soon as possible if you can attend._

 _Love, Lauren Harley_

 _P.S. You'll find the gift list on the back of this letter._

Riley stared at the letter surprised. Lauren and her friends had been nice to her, and it was great to have people in Slytherin that actually liked her. But she never imagined being invited to one of the girls' house. She turned the piece of parchment over and saw a list filled with things she had never heard of. She would just pick the least expensive.

She exited her room, looking for Remus. She was a little apprehensive about asking him to see Fred, but she couldn't see any reason why he would refuse her to go to Lauren's. She found him sitting in an armchair talking to Lyall, with a drink in his hands. She discreetly approached them.

"…Don't worry, I'm not acting alone, but something must be done, he can't get away with it!" She heard Remus' voice.

"I know son, but this isn't your battle! You'll end up doing more damage than good."

"I know why you're saying that, but I'm not you."

"You'll be putting Riley in danger." Lyall's voice was more tense than before. Remus didn't retort, instead he lowered his eyes to his drink, swirling the liquid inside. Riley, who had been caught by surprise, thought that it wasn't the best time to ask him anything. She turned around to leave, but stumbled upon a chair.

"Riley!" Remus exclaimed. "Didn't hear you coming."

"I just got here."

"Is everything ok?"

"Yes, actually I just wanted to ask you something." She said, sitting down in front of him.

"What is it?"

"Well, some friends of mine sent me a letter, asking if I could meet them."

"Oh, how wonderful." Lyall said enthusiastically, but Remus didn't seem to share his father's contentment.

"Who are those friends?" He asked.

"One of them is Fred Weasley, he's a Gryffindor." She thought that it would be nice to add this information. "He's asked me if I could come to visit him in his house."

"I know the Weasleys. They're wonderful people." Lyall stated, smiling at his son. But Remus didn't look at his father, he had his eyes set on Riley.

"You said some friends."

"Yes… The other one is a Slytherin girl. She's having her birthday party on Friday and she invited me."

"A party?" He raised an eyebrow. Riley immediately regretted saying that word.

"Well, it's not really a party, it's a sleep over. There'll only be girls there." She said nervously. Remus studied her for a moment.

"And who is this girl?"

"Her name's Lauren Harley."

"Harley?" Remus asked dryly.

"Yes… Why?"

"Is she related to Michael Harley? The daily prophet editor-in-chief? I've met him once, not really a decent person."

"Yes, he's her father."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Well, I'm sorry you don't like him, but I'm not going to _his_ slumber party."

"Don't play smart!"

"I'm not! Aren't you supposed to teach me not to be prejudiced and judgemental?"

"That's different…"

"How? How is that different? You're only saying that because she's a pureblood Slytherin! Well, guess what, I'm a Slytherin as well." She said raising her voice.

"That's not the reason Riley, you're twisting my words."

"You may don't like her father, but you don't know her!" Remus sighed, this was bringing back some memories. He remembered his old friend Sirius Black, who was nothing like his family. Of course, he had been accused of betraying James and Lily. But he never thought the accusations were true.

"I just don't think that's good for you, Riley."

"Fine!" She snapped and went back to her bedroom, slamming her door behind her.

Riley was feeling extremely angry. She had never fought with Remus like this, she couldn't understand why he was being so difficult, it was just one night. Then, she realised that he hadn't answered about Fred. Although, she didn't feel like going back in there to ask again. Someone knocked on her door.

"Go away!"

"Riley, it's Lyall. Let me in."

"Oh, ok. Come in." Lyall opened the door and stepped in. He sat down on her bed next to her. "It isn't fair."

"I know, pumpkin."

"He has to understand that I have Slytherins friends."

"He's just worried about you, that's all."

"I can take care of myself! He's overreacting!"

"I'm sure you can." He chuckled and then sighed. "You can go to your friend's house."

"What?" Riley asked surprised. "Did Remus change his mind?"

"Well, not exactly."

"Then what?"

"I'll handle him, pumpkin. I also think he's overreacting. After all, how much trouble a girl your age can get in, huh?"

Riley thought that it would be wiser not to answer, so she just gave him a soft smile.

"Thanks." She hugged him.

"Yes, of course. But not a word about this, ok?" He stood up.

"Sure. But what about Fred?" She asked before he could leave the room.

"Fred?"

"Weasley."

"Oh, right. Well, let's not push it. Why don't you ask your friend to meet you in Diagon Alley instead?"

"Hmm, all right, I can do that."

"Very well." He smiled and left her bedroom.

* * *

When Friday came, Lyall took Riley to Lauren's house. Remus wasn't home, so it wasn't difficult. She would be going to meet Fred in Diagon Alley the next day. Remus would probably be very mad, but she would deal with him later. They apparated in front of the largest house Riley had ever seen. She knocked the door, and a house-elf opened it.

"Hi. I'm Riley Potter. I'm here to see…"

"Riley!" Someone yelled her name while coming at her.

"Hi Lauren."

"Don't stand there, come on in!"

Riley entered the house. She was inside a very large marble room, with an exceptional double sided staircase. She looked up at the ceiling in admiration. It was like being inside a palace.

"The girls are already here. Follow me."

She followed Lauren up the stairs, looking amazed around her. She saw several paintings hung on the wall of the corridor leading to her bedroom. The people on the paintings were mumbling things to each other.

"Are they your family?" She asked.

"Yep. They're always expressing their opinions. It's like 'You're already dead, no one cares anymore', very irritating!"

"Watch your tone young lady." A fat woman holding a silk fan, snorted. "Young people those days, they have no respect."

"Come on Riley, this is my room." Lauren opened a double door and entered her bedroom. It was a very luxurious bedroom. It had one white king four-poster bed with two black nightstands in each side. There were also a large dresser, a white and gold couch with two armchairs, and a boudoir that looked more like art than furniture. Riley saw Melinda and April sitting on the couch next to twin girls she didn't know.

"Riley, you already know Melinda and April." The two girls waved their hands. "And those two are my cousins."

"Hello." Riley said to them. The twins didn't say anything.

"They don't speak English, they're French." Lauren turned towards the twins. " _C'est ma copine de Hogwarts, Riley Potter."_ The two girls started to whisper to each other at the mention of Riley's last name.

"Hmm, seems like Potter is a universal word." Riley said, a little annoyed. Lauren laughed.

"Is this for me?" She asked, pointing at the small pink package in Riley's hand.

"Err… Yes. Happy Birthday!" She handed Lauren the package. Lauren took it and put on a small table without even opening it. Although Riley didn't mind, she didn't want everyone to see what she had picked. She sat down alone in an armchair.

"Aren't your parents home?" Riley asked.

"No. Dad's travelling on business and mom is probably in a spa somewhere. We just got back from Monte Carlo. We have a house in there. What about you Riley? Where did you go for your holidays?"

"Actually I stayed home." Everyone turned their heads towards Riley, including the twins, who Riley thought understood everything they were saying.

"Oh." Lauren said, as if Riley had just said that her puppy died.

After they started gossiping and talking about girl stuff like clothes, make up, boys… Riley was feeling a little out of place, as if she was talking with some beings from another planet. It was a little boring, she wanted to talk about Quidditch, make jokes… Maybe she was spending too much time with boys.

"Riley?" Melinda broke her out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"If you had to choose a boy in Hogwarts, who would it be?"

"I don't know."

"You have to pick someone!" April said.

"Err…" Riley really didn't know how to answer that question. "Diggory I guess…" It was the first name that crossed her mind, every girl in her year fancied him. The girls giggled.

"Well, It's not a bad choice I guess." Lauren said. "Hey! I have an idea. What about a makeover?"

"A what?" Riley raised an eyebrow.

"A makeover, a transformation." Lauren rolled her eyes. "Let me do your hair!"

"What? No." Riley said, putting her hands protectively over her head.

"Come on. It will be nice! I have the most efficient hair potions money can buy!"

"I don't know…" Riley said, reluctantly and a little offended, she saw nothing wrong with her hair.

"I promise you won't regret it, and maybe you'll finally get Diggory." She winked at Riley, who rolled her eyes in response.

"Fine." She finally gave in.

Lauren made Riley sat in front of her boudoir and took several potion bottles. All the girls were around her, observing her, so she couldn't see herself in the mirror. Riley hated it. Lauren put some products on Riley's hair, and then she took a little tube from the drawer.

"What's that?" Riley pulled away.

"Chill out. It's just eyeliner." The other girls snickered. "Have I told you that you have beautiful eyes? Aren't they beautiful?" The girls nodded quickly. Next came black mascara and a pink lip gloss. "Ok, now a little blush." She said, adding a dust of pink powder to her cheeks. "Perfect." She said, taking a step black to contemplate her work of art. The other girls also stepped back, allowing Riley to see her reflection in the mirror. She almost didn't recognize the girl in front of her. It was like an updated version of herself. Her hair was straight and shining, her eyes looked bigger and her pale skin looked amazing.

"You look beautiful." April said. "You're a genius Lauren!" Lauren rolled her eyes, but she was grinning.

"Of course I am! Now, let's change your clothes!" And before Riley could say anything, Lauren went to her closet. She got back holding a very beautiful tank top and a mini skirt.

"Put this on!" She handed the clothes to Riley.

"I can't wear this." Riley said, taking a closer look at the skirt.

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't wear skirts!"

"It's part of our uniform, Riley." Lauren said rolling her eyes and folding her arms.

"Yes, but they're… longer."

"And uglier, put those on!" Riley obeyed. She looked at herself in the mirror, feeling extremely uncomfortable. It wasn't her. However, all the other girls, looked at her with admiration.

"You can keep it. They look very cute on you."

"Thanks." Riley forced a smile. There was no way she would wear these in public.

The rest of the night went normal. They mostly talked about boys and ways of kissing them. Riley who had no experience in this matter, just stood there listening to them. It was rather late when they finally went to sleep, Lauren asked Riley to sleep next to her and Riley noticed that it bothered Melinda. The next day, the girls had breakfast on the porch and Lyall picked her up around noon. Lauren gave her some of her make-up, saying that she should use it more often. Riley nodded politely, but just like the clothes, she had no intention of wearing it.

"You look nice. Did you do something to your hair?" Lyall asked her.

"Yes." She smiled softly. "How's Remus?"

"Oh, don't you worry about him pumpkin." He smiled trying to reassure her. But unsuccessfully. They apparated to Diagon Alley.

The weather was lovely, it was a nice day to be outside. Riley was in front of the Quidditch shop window, admiring the new Nimbus 2000. Fred and Riley had agreed to meet in Diagon Alley. She arrived a bit early, so she went to the place she liked most. Riley wanted to buy a new broom, maybe it would help her to make it to the team. Even if at first she was considering to buy the latest Cleansweep, she couldn't take her eyes off the new Nimbus. It was so robust, so powerful. Someone tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, I thought you would be here." Fred hugged her.

"Hi, Fred. How are you?"

"I'm doing good. Wow, you look different." Fred said studying her.

"Is that bad?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No, no. Actually, you look nice. Pretty." His cheeks turned red as he spoke. _"_ Not that you usually don't look pretty, but, you know…"

"Thanks." She blushed.

"So do you want to get inside?" He asked, indicating the shop in front of them.

"Maybe later. Is George here?"

"Yes, he's in Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop with Lee." Riley unconsciously frowned at the mention of Lee. "Do you want to join them?" He asked, although Riley could tell that he didn't seem too enthusiastic with this suggestion.

"Perhaps we could go get some ice cream?" She suggested. His face lit up.

"Let's go!" He put his arm around her shoulder and leaded her to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

Riley chose a mix of vanilla and strawberry while Fred chose a chocolate ice cream. She took some sickles from her pocket, but Fred insisted on paying for her ice cream along with his own. They sat down at a table outside.

"How's your ice cream?" Riley asked him.

"It's very… chocolated." He grimaced, making Riley chuckle.

"Well, I think it's kind of relieving that your chocolate ice cream tastes like chocolate."

"Truth." He agreed.

"Swap?" She asked.

"Good idea." They swapped their ice creams.

"Much better." He said with his mouth full. Riley smiled, the chocolate ice cream was indeed too sugary.

"So Fred, how's your family?" She asked.

"They're fine, mom's buying Percy new vests. You can meet her later if you want to." Riley nodded. They finished each other's ice cream and then, decided to return to Broomstix.

"Wow, that's the new Nimbus 2000!" Fred exclaimed. "It's the fasted broom in the world."

"I'm buying it." The words came out of Riley's mouth.

"What?" Fred asked, surprised.

"I'm buying it!" Flint wouldn't refuse her if she showed up riding this broom.

"Are you sure? How can you afford this?"

"I have some money my parents left me. I've never used it, but… Well, it's worth it."

So, she bought it. Fred was amazed and was constantly asking her if he could ride it in school. They spotted George.

"Hello Riley." George said, winking at her.

"Hi George." She said, smiling.

"Where's Lee?" Fred asked his brother.

"He had to leave. Mom is waiting for us Fred."

"Ok." Fred turned to Riley. "Do you want to come with us?" Before Riley could answer, she heard someone call her name. She turned around and looked where the voice had come from. Remus was ten feet away from her. He didn't look happy. Riley looked back at Fred.

"I'm sorry I have to go." She walked away from the twins.

"I hope you had enough fun, because you're grounded until the end of the holidays." Remus grabbed her hand apparated back at their house.

"I can't believe you went to get her!" Lyall stood off his chair, when he saw Remus and Riley arriving.

"I can't believe you let her go behind my back!" It was the first time that Riley saw Remus yelling at his father, and she felt a pang of guilt.

"She needs to have fun, Remus! You can't lock this child in this house forever!"

"It's not you call to make! I'm her godfather and guardian, I'm in charge!"

"Stop acting childish!"

"Riley is my responsibility!"

They continued to argue, but Riley couldn't take it anymore. So, she ran off to her bedroom. She was feeling extremely sad. Because of her, Remus was arguing with his father. They had always had a great relationship, and she spoiled everything. She didn't mind being grounded, after all she did deserve it.

The next days, the mood was tense in the house. Remus was almost never home, and when he did come home, he was distant with Riley and Lyall, almost as if he was only a tenant in his own house. Riley spent the rest of her holidays quietly in her books, she was still allowed to write to her friends, but she couldn't play Quidditch outside.

The day before returning to Hogwarts, Riley was busy packing her things when someone knocked her door.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to know if you have everything you need." Remus entered her bedroom.

"Yes, I have everything." She shrugged, without looking at him.

"Good. I just thought that something was missing."

"What?" She looked up at him. Then, he showed her a cage with a black cat inside.

"Wow, that's for me?" She asked, her smile insisting on appearing.

"Sure. Unless you don't want it."

"Of course I do!" She said, taking the cage from his hands and freeing the cat. "It's a she or a he?"

"It's a female."

"She's beautiful."

"You have to name her."

"Raven."

"Raven?" He chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know it's weird, but she reminds me of a raven, all black and everything."

"Well, that's your cat." He shrugged.

"Thank you." She smiled weakly at him. He sighed and sat down next to her.

"Look Riley. I know that you're probably mad at me. But I just want what's good for you."

"I know." She said.

"Maybe you don't understand yet why I'm doing this, but you will. I promise."

"I understand that you care for me. But sometimes I feel like you are way too overprotecting of me!"

Remus smiled. "You're probably right. I just don't want any harm to come to you."

"I know." She said, stroking her cat.

"I have another surprise for you. I think you're ready."

"What is it?" She asked. But he only grabbed her arm and apparated. They were in a village that looked somehow familiar, but it took a while to Riley to realise where she was. She saw the statue of a man holding a woman tightly. She decided to approach it, she looked down to the sign and read it, _"In memory of Lily and James Potter"._ She looked around her, she was back at her childhood home. She recognized her house, she recognized the street where she used to play with her father. She recognized the sound of the church's bell. She turned to Remus.

"I want to see their graves." She said. He nodded and took her to the graveyard of Godric's Hollow. Riley sat down by her parents' grave. The grave was colourful with fresh flowers, she noticed some notes there, _"We're never forgetting what you did_ ", " _Rest in peace_ ", _"James and Lily Potter forever!"._

Riley was trying very hard to hold her emotions together. Her eyes were filled with tears as she buried her face in her hands. Remus touched her shoulder. She wiped her tears.

"I remember everything that happened." She said.

* * *

So this chapter was supposed to be very short, oops! ^^

Hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter is half way done.

Again, thanks a lot for reviewing :) I love to read what you have to say!


	11. Chapter 10: Quidditch

**Chapter 10: Quidditch**

Riley was sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, waiting for the sorting of the new students to begin. She was starved and she hoped it wouldn't last long. As she watched the first years standing in front of everyone, she could see the fear in their eyes. A sense of relief crossed her face, she was so glad she didn't have to relive it. Adrian was sitting next to her. He had changed a lot during the holidays. He was taller, more muscular and his hair was also different, he actually looked very good. Sitting across to them was another of Adrian's roommates, Cassius Warrington. Riley had never spoken to him, but she thought he was just as obnoxious as Montague.

"How were your holidays?" Adrian asked her.

"Fine, what about yours?" She said, shrugging.

"Well, I spent one month in Norway, because of my grand-mother."

"Oh, that's right. How's she?" She remembered Adrian telling her that his grand-mother had been sick.

"Well, she passed away…"

"I'm so sorry Adrian."

"That's all right, to be honest I didn't know her very much and I only remember her as a horrible woman. She wasn't very nice to me."

"In that case, I'm sorry for that too." Riley tried a comforting smile. He smiled back at her.

"Now, a more cheerful subject, Quidditch tryouts will be held next week." He said. Riley felt a pang of sadness. Even with a brand new Nimbus 2000, her chances of making Marcus Flint's team were very slim. She let her eyes wander to where he was sitting. He wasn't sitting next to his fifth year friends, but next to Bole and Derrick, the two Quidditch beaters. Riley also noticed a fourth year girl, talking to them, constantly touching Flint's arm. Although, Riley wasn't the only one who had noticed them. Sarah Selwyn was sitting with her friend, obstinately glaring at the both of them.

"Are you both trying out?" Warrington asked, as he put a considerable amount of mashed potatoes into his mouth. Riley was surprised by the "both" he used in his sentence.

"Yes, we are." Adrian answered for the both of them.

"I don't think Flint will take girls in his team." Warrington said, casually.

"I know, he made it very clear last year." Riley acknowledged.

"But you're still trying."

"I'm better than most of the boys and I can throw a Quaffle as good as any of you!"

"Maybe, but I don't think that's the reason." He said, shrugging.

"What do you mean?"

"Quidditch is Flint's safe place. He wouldn't want a woman to spoil it."

"I don't understand." She lifted an eyebrow.

"He doesn't like women." Riley fought her urge to laugh. Marcus was the most womanizer boy she had the displeasure to meet. "I mean, he likes to snug them and all, but nothing more than that. That's probably because of his mom."

"How do you know about all of this?" Adrian asked him.

"Our dads are very good friends." He said stretching himself. "Man, this was a very good meal!"

"Why do you say it's probably because of his mother?" She was never one who liked gossip much, but she was feeling very curious about all this.

"I think I've already said to much." But Riley didn't let him change the subject.

"Come on, I need to know the reasons why he wouldn't pick me!" She insisted.

"I've already told you. There's nothing you can do about it."

"What about you, will you try out?" Adrian asked him.

"Nah, probably next year. It's a lot of commitment."

After this, both boys changed the subject. But Riley couldn't focus on what they were saying. So, it was true that Marcus wouldn't have any girl on his team. When he told her that last year, she thought he was only saying it because he was mad at her, but apparently it wasn't personal. She wondered what his mother had done to him. She knew that most pureblood families were complicated, but still. When dinner was over, they all followed the Slytherin prefects to the dungeons. Riley was feeling extremely tired. Inside of the common room, she spotted Raven by the window, trying to catch the fishes through the glass. She smiled and went to her dorm.

* * *

The next day, Riley was walking towards the Great Hall alone to have breakfast. She had Raven on her shoulder. For a cat, she was very loyal. She saw Fred and George from afar, sitting at the Gryffindor table. The last time she had talked to them was that day in Diagon Alley. Despite the fact that some of their Gryffindor friends were there with them, Riley approached the twins. Lee was the first one to notice Riley coming over, and he didn't miss the chance to greet her with a scowl. Already used to that Gryffindor attitude, she found it preferable to ignore it.

"Hey." She said. Both Fred and George turned their heads towards her. Fred's smile broadened even more.

"Hey you." He was about to hug her when he saw the little furry creature. "I see that you have a new friend." He said, lifting his hand to stroke the small black cat on Riley's shoulder.

"Yeah, that's Raven."

"That's cool. I've always wanted a cat, but my mother said that they would probably eat our chickens." He said shrugging. Riley laughed at his comment, the thing about the twins was that you never knew whether they were joking. "Besides we already have loads of animals."

"Do you want to sit with us?" George asked her.

Riley opened her mouth to answer, but before she could say anything, she heard someone scream her name.

"RILEY!" She turned around and saw Lauren, sitting at the Slytherin table along with Melinda and April. Riley waved softly at her.

"Maybe another day." She smiled at George. She had so much more fun when she was with Fred and George. But they were in Gryffindor and she was in Slytherin. Even though they were friends, the rivalry between the houses always complicated everything. Besides, Riley had already accepted her place among her housemates, now more than ever. She joined her Slytherins girlfriends, hoping that this year would be better than the last one.

"Hello Riley." Lauren greeted her, but her smile quickly faltered when she saw Raven. "What the hell is that?" She asked.

"It's a cat, Lauren." Riley answered amused.

"You're not eating with this thing, are you? Urgh, that's so not hygienic."

"She's not eating at the table if that's what you're asking." She said, placing the cat on the ground.

"I should hope not!"

"Oh well, I tried to teach her how to use cutlery, but wasn't very successful." Riley said sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny." Lauren rolled her eyes, April giggled.

"So what's up?" Riley asked, as she filled a bowl with milk and gave it to Raven.

"You'll never guess!" Melinda said.

"What?" April asked her enthusiastically. Riley wasn't really paying attention; It was probably something concerning a random boy.

"Fletcher and Selwyn are back together!" Suddenly Riley dropped the knife she was holding.

"Hey, careful with that!" Lauren said.

"Sorry. Did you just say that Fletcher and Selwyn are back together?!"

"Well, I saw them kissing last night."

"So, does that mean that Fletcher forgave Flint as well?"

"I don't know…" She said shrugging, while looking at her perfectly manicured nails. "Why are you so interested in Flint?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'm not, but if he's in a good mood for the Quidditch tryouts, that's good news for me!"

"Are you trying out for Quidditch?" Lauren asked stunned.

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing, but it's such a… brutal sport."

"I like it." Riley simply said. "My dad played as a seeker when he was in school."

"So did my dad, but it doesn't mean we have to do it." Melinda said. "You know, boys don't like girls who play Quidditch." She stared at Riley's green eyes with a mocking smile on her face. But Riley wasn't letting herself be intimidated.

"I don't live to please boys Melinda." She said dryly. But Melinda just snorted in response.

"Ok, maybe we should change the subject." April said. Of the three girls, Melinda was the one Riley disliked the most. Lauren was a little preppy for Riley's taste, but she wasn't mean. She just liked being the "queen". April was the sweetest one, Riley even wondered what she was doing in Slytherin.

Before any of them could came up with a new subject. Adrian sat down next to Riley. Warrington sat across him, beside April. Riley found odd that Montague wasn't with them.

"Hello Ladies." Warrington greeted them.

"Who the hell are you?" Melinda asked.

"We're Riley's mates!" Adrian said, winking at Riley. Riley frowned slightly. Since when Warrington was one of her mates?

"What do you want?" Melinda asked in the same aggressive tone. Adrian frowned, probably finding her behaviour very strange.

"I just came here to talk to Riley." He said, nonchalantly. She turned to Riley "I just heard from Flint that Quidditch tryouts are this Saturday morning. Just thought that you'd like to know."

"Oh that's nice. Thanks."

"No problem." He said before getting up from his seat and sitting away from them. Warrington grinned at Riley, and got up as well. That was weird.

"You know Riley, for someone who isn't interested in boys, you seem to have a lot of male friends." Melinda said.

"What are you getting at?" Riley asked.

"I'm just saying." She shrugged.

"I have to go to class." Riley rose from her seat. She was getting tired of Melinda. Since that day in Lauren's house, Melinda had been increasingly cold towards Riley. She couldn't remember have done anything to her that could possibly justify her behaviour. To Riley's surprise, Lauren had followed her.

"Don't worry about Melinda, she can be a real bitch sometimes! You're not mad, are you?"

Riley hesitated before quickly saying "No, that's fine."

"Anyway, he's very cute your friend."

"Who?"

"The blond one."

"Oh, you mean Adrian."

"Pucey, right?" Riley nodded. "So, is there something between the both of you?"

"Not that I know of." She said, and Riley had the slight impression that this was what Lauren wanted to hear.

Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table. Fred was talking animatedly with Lee Jordan.

"Seems like you have competition." George said, as he watched Adrian sitting next to Riley.

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked curious. He glanced over to where his brother was staring. "What? Pucey? He's been Riley's friend since our first day."

"Oh, so you're saying that he's not a competition, therefore you admit that you fancy her." Fred's face suddenly hardened.

"Why is he saying that?" Lee asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's nuts, that's why. Would you stop it!" He turned to his twin. "It's getting really old." He said, rolling his eyes.

"All right, all right!" George grinned. "But _if_ it is the case. You should tell her. She might like you too."

Fred didn't say anything. Instead, he lowered his head to his plate and began to eat. Lee was still looking at the twins questionably. George just shrugged at him, still wearing a smug grin on his face and began to eat too. They stood silent for quite a while until Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet approached them.

"Quidditch tryouts will be held Saturday afternoon." Angelina said, sitting down next to George. "Finn Brandon is the new Captain, and most of the players are already out of school. I think the team needs two beaters, one chaser and a seeker."

"It's a pity Charlie isn't captain anymore. It would've been a lot easier to make it to the team." George mused.

"True." Fred agreed. "But it's not stopping us!"

"What position are you trying out for?" Angelina asked them.

"Beaters." George said, "we like to beat stuff up." Fred nodded.

"I don't doubt it." Alicia giggled.

"Alicia and I are trying out for the chaser position." Angelina's voice was filled with confidence.

"But I thought that there was only one chaser position available." Fred said.

"That's right. Let the better woman win." She said to Alicia, who nodded awkwardly. Fred and George noticed that she was feeling a bit uncomfortable with this whole situation. After all, Angelina's confidence was very high. "Anyway, Slytherin tryouts will be in the morning, if you want to watch it."

Fred glanced over again at Riley, who was leaving the Great Hall, with another Slytherin girl.

"Yes, we will." He said.

* * *

Riley woke up earlier than usual that Saturday morning. Her roommates were still asleep, but Riley was wide awake. She put some old T-shirt - the one that belonged to her father - over a black long sleeved top, some black leggings and went to have breakfast, feeling particularly nervous; She was afraid she would embarrass herself completely. She didn't want to give Flint a chance to mock her. She was so absorbed by her own thoughts that she didn't notice Adrian sitting down next to her.

"Ready?"

Riley jumped with a startle "Don't you ever do that again!"

"What?" he giggled.

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, so… ready?"

"Not sure." Her voice trembled slightly.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, I've seen you play. Just don't be nervous."

"Easy said than done." Adrian chuckled, while putting some toasts and eggs on his plate. He was eating so fast that it was making Riley's stomach turn. Each swallow was a real challenge for her. She took a deep breath and fought her urge to puke.

When Adrian finished his breakfast, they both decided - even if it was still early - to go down to the pitch, so they could warm up. But when they got down there, the pitch was already full with students. Some of them were there to try out, and some were simply watching. Riley glanced at the stands, she recognized some of her housemates, but also two red headed, Fred and George were there along with Angelina, Alicia and Lee. She also spotted Melinda and April, who looked very sleepy. Riley internally laughed at this scene, Melinda had probably dragged April there with the aim of watching Flint. She looked around her and was relieved to noticed that she was not the only girl trying out, even though they were minority.

"There's a lot of people trying out…" Adrian observed anxiously.

"Yeah" Riley agreed "but, hey, it doesn't mean they're all good."

"Let's see."

They mounted their broomsticks and were the first ones up in the air. But they were quickly followed by the other students, who seemed to be waiting for someone to take the first step. When Riley felt the cold air brushing against her face, she almost forgot why she was there. She closed her eyes and let the wind guide her, being too high to collide with anyone. Riley asked herself why she felt so apprehensive, it was so natural to her after all. She did a few laps around the pitch when a husky shout brought her back to reality.

"Everybody get back down here!" Riley looked down and saw the familiar face of the team's captain. She went down to the ground with the rest. There he was, captain Marcus Flint standing next to the two last year beaters, Bole and Derrick. "Before we start the tryouts, I want to warn you that this isn't a sport for pussies, so if you're not tough enough, you can spare both you and me some time, and get out of here!" he continued dryly. Nobody moved, and a grin appeared on his face, but it wasn't a friendly or warmful grin, it was more like the kind of grin a predator would give to his prey. Riley swallowed hard, but then frowned her face, she wasn't a little damsel in distress waiting for someone to come and save her. "All right then, we already have two beaters, and I'm a chaser so I'll choose among you two other chasers, a seeker and a keeper. Let's start with those who want to be the keeper."

There was not a lot of people trying out for the keeper position. It went fast.

"Ok, that's enough, seekers now!"

There were three boys and one girl. Riley didn't know the girl's name, only that she was a fourth year. The girl was very pretty with long shining hair and unfinished legs. Riley saw one of the beaters elbow the other one and smirk, jerking his head towards her. Great, it seemed like you had to look like a supermodel to have the slight chance to make the team. She wasn't the best flyer, but she wasn't bad either, she flew fast and gracefully.

Riley saw the Snitch before all of them, it was flying next to the girl and a fourth year boy. Riley wondered how long it would take before one of them realised where it was. Suddenly, she saw the boy speeding off towards where the Snitch was, being followed by the girl. Side by side, they both reached their hands to grab the Snitch. In a finally attempt to catch it, the boy threw his weight against her, shoving both of them to the ground. But she was the one who grabbed it.

"Are you crazy? Why did you do that for?" Riley heard the girl yelling at the boy. "My clothes are dirty now because of a childish and unnecessarily move! And you really hurt me!"

"Sorry…" the boy replied awkwardly. The girl stuck up her nose and left to join her friends who were watching and cheering. Ignoring them, Flint continued.

"Ok then, chasers now! You'll split into two teams, no keepers, but there will be Bludgers. Bole and Derrick will try to knock you out of your brooms" he grinned nastily.

"Good luck!" Adrian smiled at Riley, and she smiled back.

"You too!"

They were in the same team with a third year boy, who was giving Riley a dark look. He was probably mad because he had a girl in his team. The other team only had boys, and among them was Montague. Adrian grabbed the Quaffle and gave it to Riley who gave it to the other boy, he scored. A large boy from the other team had the Quaffle, he flew towards the goal with no intention to pass it to anyone, but when Adrian put himself in front of him, he threw it to his teammate. However, Riley was faster than them, and she jumped a little off her broom and grabbed the Quaffle. She sped off toward the goal posts. A Bludger came in her direction, but she dodged it before scoring.

The boys from the other team were livid, and thought that Riley was the perfect target, for being a girl. One of the boys stormed towards the goal, and gave Riley a kick when he flew past her. She winced in pain, but quickly followed him. She had to prove that she was tough enough to play with them. Adrian put himself in front of the boy once again, making him stop abruptly. Riley managed to retrieve the Quaffle from his hands. She passed it to Adrian who sped off toward the goal posts and scored. Montague took the Quaffle and flew towards the opposite goal posts. Once again, Adrian tried to block his opponent. But this time, fulfilled with anger, Montague shove Adrian off his broom with all his strength, making him almost fall from it. Riley's eyes widened with anguish as she saw Adrian struggle to get back on his broomstick.

"Are you okay?" She yelled at him.

"Yes." He shouted back, finally getting on his broom.

The other boy from their team, had followed Montague, but unsuccessfully. After Montague scored, the boy's eyes glinted with anger, as he flew to where Riley and Adrian were.

"Would you two babies stop whining? We have a game to win!" He scolded at them. Riley rolled her eyes.

The boy passed the Quaffle to Adrian, who passed it to Riley, who impeccably avoided a Bludger. Montague was waiting for her near the goal posts, ready to drop her off her broom if she approached him too much. Her eyes burned with ferocity, as she stared at him. She was not letting herself be intimidated by that boy. He was standing in front of the middle goal post, so she decided to dart to the right at the last moment. Guessing what she was about to do, Montague threw himself to the right, and before she could score, he grabbed the edge of her T-shirt and ripped it off. But she tossed the Quaffle through the hoop. They heard a whistle from Flint, signalling them to fly back to the ground.

"Very well. I think I've seen enough." He told them.

Marcus took a piece of parchment where was written the names of all the people who were trying out. Riley watched as he studied the list, muttering something to his two beaters. She couldn't be more nervous.

"Ok then, I'm announcing the name of those who made the team. The new Slytherin Keeper will be Miles Bletchley. Our Seeker will be Terence Higgs."

"What?" She heard the girl yell. "Maybe you're having vision troubles, Flint, but I was the one who caught the Snitch!"

"Yes, and yet, you threw a fit when Higgs knocked you off your broom. You can't handle Quidditch, Harper!" He said, nonchalantly.

"How dare you to say that I can't handle it!" She approached him closer. "We all know that it's because I'm a girl."

"Well, boys don't do drama. Plus, it's tradition." He grinned.

"Tradition? So answer to me why do you lose all the time?"

"So you're saying that if a put a girl on my team, we'll win." All the boys there started laughing. Riley lowered her head to the ground. She didn't know why she was still there waiting.

"So you think girls are only good for one thing, don't you?" She said with disdain. Bole snickered and then whispered something to Derrick, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Your words, not mine."

"Fuck you, Flint!" She spat.

"With pleasure." He said, provoking more laughter from the others.

"You're going to regret this!" She stormed past him, pushing his shoulder as she did. But Marcus just kept on grinning.

"Chasers now! So, the first one is Adrian Pucey!" Adrian glanced at Riley with a broad smile. She tried to smile back at him, but she was too nervous to do so. "And the next chaser will be…"

* * *

Sorry for the delay, I wanted to post this chapter sooner, but I didn't have the time to finish it, and I didn't know exactly what I was going to write next.

So, will Riley make the team?

The beginning of the next chapter is already written, but maybe I'll change it, I don't know yet. ^^

Thanks for reviewing!


	12. Chapter 11: Lion vs Snake

**Chapter 11: Lion vs Snake**

"Chasers now! So, the first one is Adrian Pucey!" Adrian glanced at Riley with a broad smile. She tried to smile back at him, but she was too nervous to do so. "And the next chaser will be Montague."

The weird thing was that it didn't sadden Riley, but instead it angered her. Her eyes met Marcus', and he grinned with his right eyebrow lifted up, as if he was daring her to say something.

"What? This is so unfair. Montague wasn't even good! Come on Riley, go talk to Flint, I'll back you up." She heard Adrian's voice next to her face.

"No." She said, staring still at Flint.

"No?"

"This is exactly what he wants. If he wants to be stupid enough to put Montague in his team, it's his problem." She said calmly.

"Yes, but it also means that you're not playing." Adrian insisted. Riley turned her head to look at him.

"There are worst things in life." She turned around to go back to the castle. As she walked she could still hear Flint's voice, she knew that he was talking out loud on purpose.

"Congratulations for those who made the team, and for those who didn't, well, I couldn't care less!" He said in a husky voice. "Oh, and before I forget, next time we practise, try not to undress your teammates." She heard laughing behind her and instantly looked down at her T-shirt. It was all ripped up, it was ruined. She immediately regretted putting it on, it belonged to her father, a memory that had been was destroyed. The worst part was that it couldn't be repaired by magic, since most Quidditch uniforms were spell-proof with the purpose of avoid jinxes throughout a match. She took it off and increased her pace.

Later that day, it was Gryffindor's try-outs, she hadn't seen Fred since that morning during her own try-out. But she knew he would be there, trying out for the beater position. She decided to go to watch him after all, even if she was still feeling a little humiliated and angry for not making the team.

She sat down on the stands and started to watch the Gryffindor students flying around the field. She was relieved to find out that Flint wasn't there watching them. But on the other side of the pitch she could see Montague with Cora and some other Slytherins. She decided to ignore them and focused herself on the match that was happening in front of her. Fred and George were doing very well, and she wouldn't be surprised if they made it to the team. A pang of jealousy crossed over her, but she dismissed it quickly, not wanting to be that kind of person.

The Gryffindor captain finally whistled, telling them to gather around him. She couldn't hear what he was saying but when Angelina Johnson punched the air, she knew that the Gryffindor had made the team. Angelina was a nice chaser, it was hard to compare herself to her, but she knew she would have been a hard opponent. Next she saw the twins hi-fiving each other. She was happy for them, they had played very well and definitely deserved to be picked. Plus, it wasn't their fault if Flint was a bastard.

Riley decided to congratulate Fred and George. Fortunately for her, they were alone with only Lee Jordan. She had no wish to see Angelina. Riley approached the three boys and smiled at Fred when their eyes met.

"Should I congratulate you?" She asked, smirking. Fred smiled uncertainty at her for a moment and Riley guessed what the problem was. "So?" She insisted, not wanting to be pitied.

"George and I made beaters." He finally answered with the same faint smile.

"Then yes." She said, she didn't want him to feel like he needed to hide his happiness.

"Well, yes." He chuckled.

"This is what make school be worthy going to." George added. Fred looked at his twin with a warning look. A gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Riley.

"That's ok, Fred. You don't have to act like this."

"Like what?" He asked, faking unawareness.

"Like it's not a big deal!" She said, rolling her eyes. "You can show me how you really feel you know. Don't need to be sorry for me."

"Yeah…" He said a bit embarrassed. "For what it's worth, I think you were the best chaser."

"I know I was." She agreed, smiling. "But apparently, there are more important things than that." That last sentence came out a little bitter. She was trying very hard to not let it get to her but inside she was pissed. She had never hated anyone like she was hating Flint right now.

"Well, that's good news for us that you're not playing after all." He winked, trying to cheer her up.

"I know that you're trying to comfort me, but it's not working." She said crossing her arms. He laughed at this.

"Sorry… But it's true." It was times like that, that made her wish she was in Gryffindor. She was more willing to play by Gryffindor's rules than Slytherin's. Slytherins were always complicated, they lived in a world apart.

"Congratulations again." She smiled, before turning away and leaving for her dormitory.

Inside the Slytherin common room, she saw the new Slytherin Quidditch team gathered on the couches. Montague gave her a nasty grin when their eyes met. She ignored him and eyed Flint from the corner of her yes. He wasn't looking at her. He was busy trying to catch the attention of his team, who looked very annoyed to be there listening to him.

"We will win this fuck Cup this year, I don't care what we'll have to do, what _you_ will have to do." He said angry. "And I won't hesitate to replace any of you if I feel like you're not good enough." The team nodded reluctantly.

" _They're not good enough."_ Riley muttered to herself before going to her dorm. She was almost sure that Flint had his eyes on her when she did so.

* * *

That Saturday, the first match of the Quidditch season was taking place. Slytherin was facing Gryffindor and everyone was looking forward to this game, even the other houses. The entire castle was empty since every student, professor and even ghost were walking towards the Quidditch pitch, everyone but Riley. She had no desire to watch the game, she couldn't stand being among her housemates, cheering for her house. Deep down, she didn't want them to win. So instead, she decided to go to the library to do all her homework.

Riley was so focused on her Potions essay – she needed it to be perfectly done since Professor Snape was being incredibly nasty to her – that she didn't notice someone standing beside her and grabbing her arm.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!" Riley's eyes widened with the sight of Marcus Flint in front of her. Wasn't he supposed to be on the pitch? Preparing himself for his big game?

"What're you doing here?" She asked, frowning.

"You're playing today!" He answered as he dragged her out of the library.

"What?" Did she hear him well? Was this a cruel joke?

"You're playing." He repeated impatiently. Riley stopped walking and pulled herself away from his grip. He turned around scowling at her.

"I have no time for this little game of yours. I have a real one that is about to start!" He snapped.

"Why am I playing? Last time I checked you chose Montague over me on your team!" She said folding her arms. Flint turned his face away from hers and sighed deeply.

"Montague is injured."

"What?" A smile was starting to take form on her face. She couldn't believe that Flint had come to her. He must have been extremely desperate. She wanted to say no, she wanted him to pay for what he did. But again, her wish to play Quidditch was stronger.

"Very well." She said, raising an eyebrow. "But you owe me one."

"Fine!" He spat.

"I'll grab my broom."

"Hurry up."

When she arrived at the Slytherin Locker room, she found her new teammates all dressed up in green robes, they were all waiting for their captain to instruct them. Everyone glowered at her, except for Adrian Pucey who gave her an encouraging smile.

"Seriously?" Bole asked. "She's replacing Montague?" Flint didn't bother to answer. He glowered menacingly at his beater, who shrugged, shocking his head.

"We're not letting those fucking Gryffindors win. Drop them from their brooms if you have to, I don't care! And you," he pointed his finger at Riley, "you better be up to it!" Riley didn't say anything, she wasn't playing for him nor for Slytherin, she was only playing for herself.

The team mounted their brooms and flew into the air. Outside, she could see tiny red spots flying around. She looked around her and saw the crowd of students screaming, she had never played with that much people watching her and it was certainly making her very nervous. When they heard Madam Hooch's whistle, both teams gathered around her. Fred glanced at Riley, raising an eyebrow and she shrugged with a smug grin on her face. When Madam Hooch asked the captains to shake their hands, Riley turned her eyes towards Flint. He shook the Gryffindor captain's hand so hard that his hand whitened. Riley knew it would be a rough game, but she only hoped that neither Fred nor George would get hurt. Madam Hooch whistled once again, and the game started.

Flint grabbed the Quaffle and flew up the field. He stormed off towards the goal posts, but was blocked by Angelina. When she tried to take the Quaffle from his hands, Marcus lifted his leg up to kick her, but was hit by a Bludger. The Quaffle fell from his hands and he turned his head angry to where it had come. He saw the defiant figure of Fred Weasley and gritted his teeth in silent fury. Angelina took the Quaffle that had fallen from Marcus' hands, and flew towards the opposite goal posts. Both Riley and Adrian followed her. Angelina dodged a Bludger that Bole had sent in her direction and positioned herself to throw the Quaffle through the hoop. But, before she could do so, Riley put her hand in front of the Quaffle, stopping her from throwing it. The Quaffle slid from Angelina's hand and Riley quickly grabbed it, speeding off to their goal posts. She dodged a Bludger not looking at the person who had shot it. She knew it was ridiculous since this was a Quidditch match and it was Fred's role, but she didn't want it to be him. When the Gryffindor captain put himself in front of Riley, she passed the Quaffle to Flint, who was near the left hoop. He scored.

The other Gryffindor chaser had the Quaffle. She passed it to his captain who sped off towards the goal posts. Riley tried to follow her, but she was already too far ahead. Adrian tried to stop her, but unsuccessfully. She scored. Adrian got the Quaffle back, he passed to Flint, who tried to scored, but the Gryffindor keeper, Oliver Wood, saved it. The Gryffindor chaser sped off again towards the goal posts, but this time, Riley was faster. She intercepted the girl and grabbed the Quaffle from her hands. She flew towards the Gryffindor goal posts and scored.

The Score was 90-30 and Slytherin was winning. Riley had scored 4 of the 9 times and was feeling particularly thrilled. The Slytherin students were all cheering madly. They screamed every time Riley was holding the Quaffle. She loved it, she wanted to play more, she wanted to score more points for her house. But, a whistle from Madam Hooch made her stop confused. She looked down and saw that Higgs had caught the Snitch. All the Slytherin players flew to his direction. Riley was feeling a little disappointed but decided to join them. The game was over and Slytherin had won.

Once she had finished showering, she exited the Locker room and saw Fred from afar. He was sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. He was still in his Quidditch robes. So instead of going to celebrate their victory with her team, she decided to go to see him. When he saw her approaching, he smiled weakly at her.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." She smiled back as she sat down next to him.

"Good game." His gaze lost to the horizon.

"Yeah. You were good." She said trying to cheer him up this time. He didn't answer, only smiled.

"How come that you were playing?" He asked frowning slightly. Riley sighed deeply.

"Believe me or not, but I owe this to Montague's injury."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, then Flint asked me to replace him and even though I wanted to tell him to… Well you know, I really wanted to play."

"Well, I'm glad for you then, Riley."

"Thanks. It's a bit chilly in here. Do you want to get inside?"

"Nah, I think I'm going to stay in here a bit longer."

"Ok then." She got up and started to walk away.

"By the way." She heard Fred shout. "You're welcome for Montague's injury."

Riley got back to the Slytherin common room puzzled with what Fred had just told her. What did he mean by that? Did he do something to Montague? She could hear loud noises and music coming from the common room. Adrian was the first one to greet her.

"Hey, I was looking for you." He said, cheerful. "What a game. You were amazing!" She smiled at him.

"So were you."

"Come on, let's celebrate." He grabbed her arm and lead her to where the whole team was. Everyone was being nice to her, like she was their new hero. Even Derrick and Bole, who hadn't been very fond of the idea of her replacing Montague, were now congratulating her. This was the best day since she had arrived at Hogwarts. She noticed that Flint wasn't there with them, though it didn't bother her. The only person who wasn't having a good time, was Montague who spent the whole time scowling at Riley.

* * *

Several days had passed and Riley was still training with the team as their match against Ravenclaw was in a few days. One Friday afternoon, they were all training under the rain. Flint was being extremely obnoxious. He was yelling at them, insulting them all the time. Riley was tired and cold, so she wasn't playing at her best. When training was over and they were all going inside the Locker room, Montague was there waiting for them. He looked angrily at Riley.

"I'm better now, you can fuck off!"

"I'm playing this game Montague, either you like it or not!"

At this moment, Marcus Flint entered the Locker room in his green Quidditch robes holding his broom. Montague grinned evilly at Riley and turned to face the Slytherin Captain.

"I'm better now, Marcus, I can play. Can you please tell that one there to leave us men deal with Quidditch?" He asked, before turning to Riley again. He was taller and intimidating, but Riley didn't flinch, she was already used to it.

"No." The captain said indifferently. Without fully understanding what his captain had said, Montague turned around to face him again.

"What?"

"I said no. Potter is playing against Ravenclaw."

"WHAT?" Montague shouted. "How is this fair? She was only playing because I was injured!" Flint glowered at him, clearly annoyed.

"Not my problem."

Montague was speechless, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. But he was still a bit afraid of Marcus, so he just scowled one more time at Riley before storming off from the Locker room. Riley looked at Flint astonished.

"Are you truly putting me on the team?"

"Welcome to the team, Kitten."

* * *

I really wanted to post it sooner, but I've been so busy lately. Sorry if this chapter was a bit short, but I rather post it than make you wait.

Anyway thanks for reviewing :)


	13. Chapter 12: The new Riley

**Chapter 12: The new Riley**

Despite the fact that she was waking up very early almost every day for practice, training very hard, and being yelled at by her captain at least five times a day, Riley couldn't be happier. Marcus Flint was being the same prat to her as always, but the rest of the team had already accepted her among them. Being a Quidditch player changed her life in a way that she would never have thought possible. Her popularity had grown immensely as a result and her Slytherin fellows not only treated her nicer but also looked up to her. For the first time in her life she was being esteemed for something of her doing, and not because she had a famous brother. She was almost admitting that she liked being a Slytherin.

One morning, she was walking down towards the Quidditch pitch with Adrian when they heard some people arguing.

"What's happening?" She asked Adrian. He shrugged and both hurried to where the argument was taking place. They saw some Slytherin players arguing with the Gryffindor team. They approached Terence Higgs.

"What's going on?" Adrian asked him.

"Marcus booked the pitch for us today, but the Gryffindor team is complaining because he also booked every other day of the week."

"Where's he?" Riley asked. The fact the Marcus Flint wasn't there was very odd. He was always the first and the last one on the pitch. Terence shrugged and turned his attention back to the fight. Riley glanced at the Gryffindor team and her eyes stopped at Fred, who wasn't looking back at her. Fred had been acting oddly lately, he rarely spoke to her and when he did, it was a very formal talk. She didn't understand what was going on with him.

"We booked the pitch, so sod off!" Lucian Bole said.

"You can't book the pitch every single day!" Finn Brandon, Gryffindor's captain widened his eyes in anger.

"Well we did, so I think we can." He mocked in disdain, the other Slytherin players laughed in support.

"Actually according to Hogwarts' rules, you can't!" It wasn't their captain who had said that, but Angelina Johnson. Riley was surprised to hear Angelina taking a stand, especially against big and intimidating Slytherins. Bole glanced at her amused while Derrick and Bletchley glared at the Gryffindor.

"Oh Really?" Bole took a step in her direction, but Finn Brandon put himself in front of her.

"You know what, it's not worth it. It's like trying to talk to a wall." He barked that last sentence. "Let's go. I'll talk to McGonagall." He said to his team.

"Yes sure, go crying to that old hag." Bole said snickering, being followed by the rest of the team.

The Gryffindor team left the pitch, and Riley who hadn't joined her teammates in their mockery, followed Fred with her eyes waiting for him to look at her, he didn't. Feeling a bit frustrated, she turned her attention back to her teammates, who were still mocking the Gryffindor team.

" _According to Hogwarts' rules, you can't."_ Bole said in a high-pitched voice. The other boys started sniggering. "I swear, these little Gryffindors are more and more bold."

"We should teach them a lesson." Derick suggested.

"What do you mean?" Bole asked his friend.

"You know, an unfortunate Quidditch accident…" He said, grinning with one side of his mouth. Riley shook her head closing her eyes. They had already won against the Gryffindor team. What good would that do?

"Why?" She asked. "We already won, are you trying to get on detention before our game against Ravenclaw?" Both Bole and Derick turned to her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot your little boyfriend plays for Gryffindor. But, don't worry, we are going to spare him if you want to, a little bit." He grinned maliciously.

"He's not my boyfriend." She said rolling her eyes and folding her arms. "But it would be nice if we don't lose our game against Ravenclaw because our two beaters are in detention."

"Why would our two beaters be in detention?" Marcus Flint's inquisitive voice came from behind them. Riley turned around to see her captain standing there behind them.

"Tell your players not to do anything stupid before the Quidditch season is over." She said before leaving to the Locker room. Marcus frowned, half confused, half mad for being told what to do. He turned to his players.

"What's going on?"

"The Gryffindor team was here, accusing us for booking the pitch every morning." Bole explained. Flint snorted.

"It's not my fault if Brandon leaves everything to the last minute. But why would you be on detention?"

"Derrick and I wanted to do something against those wankers." He said grinning nastily. "But little princess right there wants to protect her boyfriend." Marcus raised an eyebrow questionably. "So she told us not to do anything." He chuckled a little as if what she said was absurd.

"She's right." Flint said.

"What?" Bole and Derrick asked in unison.

"The only thing that matters is to win! And I'd be extremally pissed if _something_ gets on my way." He pointed his fingers at his beater in a threatening manner. Bole raised his two arms in surrender while Derrick sighed exasperated.

"Fine."

"Good." Flint said, still with a threatening voice. He left to the Locker room, being followed by the rest of them. Bole was the last one, he walked muttering unintelligible words. Flint was in a very bad mood – more than usual – and spent the entire practice yelling at them. When practice was over, they were all gathered inside the Locker room. Bole and Derrick were talking – in a very improper and explicit way – about a Ravenclaw chaser, Morgane Rivers. Adrian was busy trying to show Bletchley how to polish correctly his broom and Higgs had already left, since he had to go to Charms Club. Riley glanced at Flint, who was arranging his stuff.

"You should be careful you know." She said quietly, so only him could hear her.

"What?" He asked, not looking at her.

"It's one thing to piss off the Gryffindor team, but if you keep that way, we'll have the entire school against us."

"So?" He asked again, still not looking at her. Riley raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you care?" She asked him. Marcus turned his face, finally looking at her.

"I know you have problem understanding that. But when you're a Slytherin, you only care about Slytherin. The other houses aren't important, and aren't worth our attention."

"So you're ok with them hating you."

"They already do, with you wanting it or not."

"That's not true, I've friends in the other houses too!"

Marcus' teeth flashed in a wicked grin. "It won't last."

"What makes you say that?" Flint looked around him, making sure no one was paying attention to them.

"When I was younger, before Hogwarts, I had a neighbour who was also a friend of mine. We used to play Quidditch together and all, but he was sorted in Gryffindor and I was sorted in Slytherin and now we can't stand each other." He said shrugging, as if it didn't bother him. Riley frowned slightly, pondering his words. She came to the conclusion that Flint was a jerk, so it was irrelevant.

"If you say so." She grabbed her broom and started removing the dust from the bottom.

"Are you worried about your boyfriend?" Riley quickly turned her face back to him.

"What boyfriend?"

"The Gryffindor Lucian told us about."

"I don't have a boyfriend and Bole's an idiot."

"Good." He paused and stared seriously at her. "Cause if it was the case, I'd be forced to kick you off the team." He grabbed his things and left the Locker room. Riley watched him leave perplexed. Marcus was the most bipolar person she had ever met. One second he could talk to you like a normal person, and the next second, without warning, he was back to his obnoxious self.

* * *

That same day, after a boring History of Magic class with Hufflepuff, Riley was heading alone to the Great Hall to have lunch, since Adrian had to do his Potion homework. When she was in front of the Great Hall entrance she bumped into Fred.

"Hi." She smiled at him.

"Hi." He said a bit coldly. Riley frowned and was about to ask him what was wrong when George called his twin from the Gryffindor table. "I have to go." He said before quickly walking away. Riley stood there for a few seconds. Flint's words coming back into her head. This was getting ridiculous, they really needed to talk.

Riley walked towards the Slytherin table and sat down with Lauren, April and Melinda.

"Hi Riley." April and Lauren greeted her.

"Hi." Riley said in a small voice.

"What's wrong?" Lauren asked.

"Nothing." She said forcing herself to cheer up. It wasn't like she could tell her friends about her problems with Fred. "What's up?"

"Not much. How was practice this morning?" April asked.

"Fine." Riley shrugged. "Flint is still the same arsehole as always…" She stopped talking when she heard Melinda snort. Riley looked up at her amused. "Yes?"

"He's not an arsehole, if he's yelling at you is probably because you deserve it!"

"Hmm yeah, cause usually he's a real charmer."

"Well, he is with me."

"Have you ever talked to him?" Riley asked lifting an eyebrow. April giggled receiving a glare from her friend.

"Yes, just yesterday I held the door for him and he thanked me!"

"Wow, when's the wedding?" Riley asked mocking her. The other girls started chuckling whereas Melinda was turning red with anger.

"Riley has a point Melinda, you never had a proper conversation with him!" Lauren added.

"Well, I'm just waiting for the right moment."

"Do you want me to put in a word for you?" Riley asked her. Melinda looked at her suspiciously.

"Why would you do that for me?" She asked. Riley shrugged.

"I guess it would be fun."

"Very well, but if you embarrass me, you're going to regret it!"

Riley didn't say anything, instead she smiled at her supposed "friend". The real reason why she was doing that was to get both Melinda and Flint out of her hair. Two birds, one stone.

* * *

Riley had already learnt how to brew her own sleep potion, so the fact that Snape wasn't helping her anymore wasn't that problematic. However, she was over-consuming it and even if, at first, she wasn't having nightmares anymore and she wasn't having any side-effects, something new happened.

It was during the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match. It wasn't a good weather to play Quidditch. It was raining very hard and she was trying to concentrate on the game and at the same time trying not to slid off her broom. Riley grabbed the Quaffle and stormed off to the goal posts when suddenly her head started spinning, forcing her to slow down. Despite the fact that Marcus Flint was yelling at her, she could barely hear him. Her head went fuzzy, and the vision of the Quidditch pitch was replaced by a vision of a cemetery. She quickly recognized it, it was the same cemetery of her dreams. But the scene she was witnessing was a bit different from the one in her dream. It had the same little creature. It was being carried by someone she didn't recognize, who dropped it into a cauldron. Riley couldn't move, her arms were stuck. She watched as the little creature transformed itself into a tall, thin and scary man, a man Riley had already seen before. A sudden pang of pain hit her whole body. She couldn't breathe. She heard distant voices calling her name, and then all went blank.

When Riley woke up, she wasn't in the Quidditch pitch anymore, but inside the infirmary. Her entire body was hurting. The pain increased as she tried to move, she cringed and sat up with difficulty. Once she was well adjusted, she took the time to see who was there with her. Much to her surprise, it wasn't Adrian or Fred who she saw, but Marcus Flint. He was sitting on a chair lazily.

"Did we lose?" Riley asked him in a throaty voice.

"What do you think?" He didn't look mad, but even if he was, Riley was too tired to deal with it.

"What happened?" She asked, whimpering in pain. He raised an eyebrow.

"You fell from your broom." Then she remembered everything. This was the first time that something like this had happened to her. "But don't worry, your broom is intact."

"Thanks, that was my biggest concern." Riley said, rolling her yes. He sneered. "I thought Adrian was here with me." She confessed in a whisper.

"He was here, everyone in the team was here." She opened her eyes wide in surprise. So they did care for her after all. "But you wouldn't wake up, so they left. I've been waiting for almost three hours."

"Why are you still here then?"

"I had to be sure you'd be able to play the next game." He said shrugging.

"Oh." She said dryly.

"Anyway, now that you're still alive. Are you going to be able to play?" Riley couldn't believe what she was hearing, was he serious?

"Seriously? Are you asking me this now?"

"Don't be overdramatic." He rolled his eyes. "I have to know if I'm going to have to replace you."

"Why are you being such an arse?" She raised her voice a bit. That clearly irritated him.

"I'm being an arse!? We lost the game because of you! I should be scolding you right now!"

"Then kick me off the team, if that's what you want."

"I-" He stopped abruptly, studying his words carefully. "That's exactly the reason why I didn't want a girl on my team. You're so sensitive."

"Well, Montague's a boy." She said folding her arms. Riley didn't know why she was acting like that, she had never been the kind that gets offended easily. Maybe it was the pain. Marcus stared at her, his brows knitted together. The silence that followed made Riley regret her words. Why was she asking him to put Montague in her place?

"Are you asking me to put Montague in your place?" He asked as if he had just read her mind.

"No." She sighed tiredly.

"Didn't think so." He spat at her. They both stood there, staring at each other when suddenly Riley burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" He raised an eyebrow defiantly, his arms folded.

"Nothing, it's just that of all people, the one who's standing by my side is the meanest Slytherin." Riley expected Marcus to scowl at her, but instead he grinned.

"Is that what you think of me?"

"It's what everyone thinks of you." She grinned back at him.

"You don't seem to be scared of me, though."

"I'm not."

At this moment, Lauren and April entered the infirmary, being followed by Melinda, who looked indifferent until she saw who was in the room with Riley. They approached Riley's bed.

"Oh Riley, we came as soon as we could." Lauren said to her. Riley raised an eyebrow. How long did Flint tell her he waited? "How are you feeling."

"In pain." She simply said, giving her a half smile.

"Oh, poor thing, I told you Quidditch was dangerous."

"Hi, Marcus." Melinda gave him a toothy smile. Marcus looked at her surprised and nodded his head awkwardly.

"Well, now that you're in good company I'm going." He raised his hand saying goodbye to Riley and started walking to the exit.

"Bye Marcus." Melinda said, he turned around feeling more awkward than before and nodded again. Riley fought her urge to laugh, not because she didn't want to hurt Melinda's feeling, but because it hurt pretty badly.

"Did you told him about me?" Melinda turned her head back to Riley.

"No, I was busy falling off my broom." Riley said sarcastically. Melinda rolled her eyes.

"It was terrible seeing you fall." April said to her. Riley smiled at her, genuinely this time.

"It felt terrible."

"What happened to you?" She asked curious. Riley didn't respond, she wasn't sure if she should tell her friends that the reason why she fell was because she was having a vision of Voldemort.

"Hypoglycemia?" She mused, shrugging. The girls stayed there with Riley until dinner time, after that she received the visit of Adrian, Warrington – which in Riley's opinion was very weird – Tonks and Terence who had brought her broom. But Fred hadn't come, Riley didn't know what she could have had done to him, but she was certain that he was mad with her. She sighed deeply before allowing her eyes to close.

* * *

When Riley was fully recovered and ready to leave the infirmary, the first thing she wanted to do was to see Fred. They had to clarify things with each other. She saw him heading to the Quidditch pitch and called his name. He turned around and when he saw that it was Riley who had called him, he hesitated for a moment, but then decided to wait for her.

"Hi." She said.

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

"Better." She said dryly. _'Of course you would've known if you had bothered showing up.'_ She thought. He nodded and started walking again.

"Listen, can we talk?"

"I'm late for practice. We're playing against Hufflepuff in two weeks."

"Well that's Hufflepuff, it's like playing against small kids." Riley said it half laughing, in an attempt to lighten the mood between them but Fred's reaction wasn't what she expected. Instead of laughing with her, he shook his head.

"What's going on with you?" Riley asked, frustrated and losing patience.

"With me? Nothing, you're the problem!"

"What?" Riley widened her yes. "You're the one who've been acting weird since I made the team."

"Yeah, well..." Fred diverted his eyes from her and directed them to the ground. Riley waited for him to finish his sentence but he didn't say anything else.

"Are you saying that you have a problem with me being on the team? Is that because we beat you?"

"No! Of course not, it's just that-" He sighed loudly. "It's just that since you made the team, you've been acting just like them!"

"What? Like who?"

"Like the other Slytherins." Riley's mouth opened slightly, she pondered his words carefully.

"That's not true, I'm still the same me."

"Maybe you don't realise it yet, but that's not exactly true. Look, just a few minutes ago, you insulted the Hufflepuff team."

"It was just a joke Fred!"

"If you think that way, maybe you're just as bad as them." Riley was taken aback by his words. Although a part of her knew that maybe he wasn't all wrong, she wouldn't admit it to herself. She nodded slightly.

"If that's what you think." She turned around and started walking away.

"Riley!" Fred called after her, but she didn't turn around. Riley decided to skip breakfast and went directly to the common room. Inside the common room, Marcus was on the couch talking with Magnus. When he saw Riley, he quickly stood up and went towards her.

"You're back." He said. She nodded confirming it. "Can you play?"

"Yes, Marcus." She said, sighing.

"Good." There was an awkward silence between them. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No. I'm not hungry."

"Well, you need to eat to regain strength. Let's go."

"What about him?" Riley nodded her head to indicate Magnus. Marcus turned around to look at his friend.

"Magnus, I have to take Potter to the Great Hall, she's feeling too weak to go on her own."

Riley frowned "Wha-"

"Just play along with it." Marcus muttered, cutting her off. Magnus nodded and Marcus grabbed Riley's arm and leaded her out of the common room.

"What the hell was that?" She asked when they were outside the common room.

"Just wanted to get rid of him." He shrugged, his hands in his pockets.

"But now how are you going to get rid of me?" She joked, making Marcus laugh.

"I'll figure something out." He winked at her. Riley smiled and followed him to the Great Hall. Of all weird things that had happened to her lately, this one was the greatest one.

* * *

 **Hello again!**

 **I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. Anyway if you thought it was a bit confusing, every detail that happened will make sense in the further chapters.**

 **But what's important to know is that Marcus is appreciating Riley more and more, in his twisted way of course, and that something happened that made Fred be like that, it will be explained, so don't worry.**

 **Oh, and maybe you've guessed who Marcus' mysterious gryffindor "friend" is ^^**


	14. Chapter 13: Christmas II

**Hi :)**

 **Finally a new chapter! I know I said it was almost done, like two months ago, but I was not very happy with the chapter and to be honest, inspiration wasn't coming. Anyway I'm not entirely happy with this chapter either, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Christmas II**

Raven was staring carefully at a butterfly, which had just landed on the centre table in the Slytherin common room. She positioned herself to jump and landed on the old wooden table, making a teacup spill its contents on Melinda.

"Arrgh! You should do something about your bloody cat, Potter!"

Riley didn't bother looking up from the book she was reading, and just rolled her eyes slightly.

"It's a cat, you can't control it." She said calmly.

"Then cage it or put it outside!"

Riley set her eyes on her, before lifting her wand and cleaning Melinda's uniform with it.

"There." She looked down at her book again. They were waiting for April and Lauren to join them, so they all could have breakfast together. Riley hated being alone with Melinda and didn't care if it was rude to ignore her completely, by reading a book while waiting.

"That's not the point!" She snapped back. Riley opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it. It was best to just let it go. "Anyway, have you talked to Marcus, yet?"

"I will." Riley hadn't said anything to Marcus, despite the fact that they were getting along now, she didn't know exactly how to proceed.

"It's been three weeks already!"

Riley sighed loudly and looked at Melinda.

"Fine, I'll do it after practice today. Happy?"

Melinda didn't answer, she gave Riley her snobby look and turned her attention to the girls' dorm.

"Ah finally!"

Riley lifted her head and saw April and Melinda coming to their direction. She closed her book and got up from the couch.

"What? A girl needs time to get ready in the morning." Lauren said grinning at her friend.

"Well, apparently not all of us share this line of thought." Even if Melinda didn't look at Riley, Riley knew that this comment was addressed to her. She had never taken the time to get ready in the morning, she didn't see the point of it. Her hair was messy as always, and she didn't wear makeup, she didn't need to with her big green eyes and flawless skin. She only had lipstick on, but it was only because Lauren gave all that makeup to her and she didn't want to look ungrateful.

When Riley finished her breakfast, she went to Potions class. Snape was still acting cold towards her and she was being treated the same way as Gryffindors. Luckily enough, Snape didn't like to take points from his own house. She saw Adrian sitting next to Warrington, who was very concentrated on writing on a piece of parchment.

"Hey Riley." Adrian greeted her.

"Hey, why didn't you come to sit with us for breakfast?"

"Well, I don't think your friends like us." He said, laughing.

"What? Nonsense." She laughed back.

"Well, one of them was pretty nasty with us the last time."

"Melinda." Riley rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't worry about her, I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me either." Riley answered, making Adrian chuckle. "But April and Lauren are cool." She remembered what Lauren had said about Adrian. "They like you."

"Oh, in that case, we'll be joining you." He smiled.

"What's he doing?" She asked, nodding her head towards Warrington.

"He didn't finish the essay we had for Homework."

"And Snape will have my head if I don't give this to him today." Warrington added. "He's been in a very weird mood lately."

Riley bit her bottom lip, it was true that Snape was different from last year, but she found it hard to believe, that he would have changed that much only because of what had happened between them. Riley glanced at her own essay, she didn't want to give him any reason to give her a bad grade, so every time she had a potions homework, she did it like her life depended on it. It was exhausting, but at least she was still having good grades.

"Well, I've heard some interesting rumours about that." She heard Montague's annoying voice from behind her.

"Sod off, Montague." Adrian spat.

"Oh, don't you want to hear it? Apparently, it has something to do with a student here… A Slytherin."

Riley gulped nervously. She didn't want her housemates to blame her for Snape's behaviour.

"Who?" Warrington asked. Riley prepared herself for hearing her name, but Montague just shrugged, grinning wickedly at Riley. Then, he left to join Cora and her cronies.

"What a git." Adrian said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"You never said what happened between the two of you." Riley asked, eyeing Montague.

"Oh," Riley noticed that Adrian blushed a bit. "Well, after I started being friends with you again, he started saying awful things about you, and he said that I'd have to choose between you and him, so…"

Riley was surprised, and at the same time touched by that.

"So you chose me?!" She asked smiling a bit. Adrian looked at her, his cheeks pink.

"You know like sometimes, you think that you have a lot in common with someone but then realise that it isn't true?"

Riley glanced at Fred, who was laughing at something with George and Lee.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

When Potions class was over, Riley, who had finished her potion 10 minutes in advance, grabbed her stuff and quickly turned to the classroom exit, but froze when she heard Professor Snape's voice.

"A moment please, Miss Potter."

Turning around, she saw that Snape wasn't looking at her, instead he had his eyes on some parchments on his desk. What Snape could possibly want with her? Feeling rather nervous, she took a few steps towards his desk. She watched her classmates rushing out of the class to have lunch. When the last one had finally left the classroom, she turned her head back to her Professor, who still wasn't looking at her.

"Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you." He said nonchalantly. Riley remained silent for a few moments. "You can go now Miss Potter. Password is Acid Pops." She opened her mouth to reply, but then decided against it.

She left the classroom and glanced at her watch, it was past midday. Since Snape didn't gave her more information, she didn't know when Dumbledore was expecting to see her, she thought that it would be best not to make him wait.

She decided to go directly to the Headmaster's tower and said the password when she was in front of the Gargoyle statue. The staircase started moving and Riley quickly stepped on it. She reached the office door and knocked.

"Come on in." The Headmaster's voice came from the other side of the door. Riley opened the heavy door and stepped inside.

"Ah Miss Potter." He frowned, gently. "I wasn't expecting you this early. Have you already eaten?"

"I'm not hungry." She lied.

"Very well. Have a seat." He indicated the chair in front of his desk. "So, you must be wondering why I called you here." She nodded. "I want to talk to you about what happened at the last Quidditch match."

Riley averted her eyes from his, as if she was afraid he would read her mind. She really didn't want to talk about it.

"I fell." She answered quickly.

"I'm aware." He smiled gently. "My question is why?"

Riley looked back at him and saw his small blue eyes staring at her.

"I-I," She stammered and sighed deeply. "I'm not sure. Everything went black and I fell."

"Is that all?" He asked, as if he already knew the answer.

"Well…" She started saying. "I also saw something." She added warily. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"My dream." She said at once.

"Your dream?"

"Yes, the cemetery." She lowered her eyes to her hands. "Only this time, it was more clear and…" She hesitated.

"And?"

She looked up and met his eyes again.

"And I saw Voldemort coming back to life."

* * *

"What did Dumbledore want?" Adrian asked her, while they were in the Locker room after Quidditch practice.

"He wants me to take Divination class next year."

"Divination? With that old bat?" Bole, who had been eavesdropping, said.

"This is a private conversation." Adrian retorted, mildly annoyed.

"What do you mean?" Riley asked, not seeming to mind this intrusion.

"Trelawney is nuts." He sneered. "My father said that she isn't even gifted, that she's just some sort of charlatan."

"So why do you take divination?" Bletchley asked, being the second one to intrude.

"Because people told me it was an easy class." He said casually. "It is, though."

Riley pondered for a moment, she wasn't sure why Dumbledore wanted her to take that class specifically. It couldn't possibly be a vision what she had, could it?

"I'm starving." Adrian said as he grabbed his stuff. "I promised Cassius that I'd meet him before dinner, are you coming?" He asked Riley.

Remembering that she had to speak with Flint about something, she shook her head.

"Don't wait for me, I need to do some things first."

Adrian shrugged. "As you wish." He left the Locker room, being followed by the other players. There was no one else but Riley and Marcus left, he grabbed his broom and was about to leave when Riley called his name, he turned around and frowned slightly.

"What?"

"I want to ask you something."

"Spill it out."

"Are you seeing someone at the moment?"

Flint's slight frown turned into a confused face.

"Huh… Potter I don't what you're doing right now, but you're too young for me."

"What?" Riley widened her eyes. "No, no, no! I'm not asking for me!"

"Oh." He seemed to relax a bit. "Who then?"

"Melinda."

"Who?"

"Melinda Rowle." Seeing that Flint was still confused she added. "One of the girls that are always with me. The one who greeted you in the hospital wing the other day. She's a third year but she's already fourteen."

"Oh right."

"Anyway, she has a crush on you, and I'm supposed to tell you this, so do whatever you want with this information, I don't care."

With that Riley grabbed her things and left the Locker room.

* * *

The last weekend before Christmas was Hogsmead visit day. Riley was having breakfast with Lauren, April and Melinda. She listened bored, as Melinda talked about her date with Marcus Flint.

"Do you think he'll like my dress?" Melinda asked. Riley glanced at her, she was wearing a strapless blue dress. She was also wearing black tights underneath.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" April asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, then he can warm me up." She winked at April. Riley rolled her eyes, she was almost relieved that she wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmead.

"Would you please stop talking about him, it's getting annoying!" Lauren said, bored. Melinda blushed and lowered her eyes to her plate. Lauren was apparently the one person who could put Melinda in her place. Even though, Lauren had always been nice to Riley, she sometimes felt a little intimidated by her. One thing she knew for sure was that she didn't ever want to be on her bad side.

"What are you going to do today?" April asked Riley. Riley noticed that even if the question was directed to her. April quickly glanced at Lauren, probably wanting to know if this new subject was approved by her. But when Lauren glanced at Riley waiting for an answer, she seemed to relax a bit.

"I haven't planned anything yet." Riley said, shrugging. "Maybe I'll just do my homework."

"It's really too bad that you can't come with us." Lauren smiled at Riley. "We'd have so much fun."

Riley noticed Melinda wincing, even if the other two didn't. Although, she didn't know if it was because she didn't think that they would have fun together or if it was because Lauren was being way nicer to Riley than to her.

"Yeah, too bad." Riley agreed.

They finished their breakfast and Riley accompanied the girls outside the castle, where Professor McGonagall was waiting for the students. She waved them goodbye and went back inside the castle. Then she headed to the Slytherin common room to grab her books and went to the library.

The library was almost empty, with the exception of some seventh-year Ravenclaws who seemed to have skipped Hogsmead visit to study for their NEWTS. Riley sat down at a table next to the window where she could see the snow falling down. She opened her Potions book and started doing her homework. She always did Potions first, always wanting it to be perfect.

She was trying really hard to concentrate, but some boys were talking and laughing behind the bookcase next to her. She kept on glaring at the bookcase as if they could see through it. After five minutes, she couldn't take it anymore, she abruptly got up from her seat and went towards where the voices where coming from.

"Would you please keep your mouths shu- " She immediately stopped talking when she saw who was there. Fred and George were sitting on the floor whispering to each other, next to them was an open book, but she couldn't read it. "So-rry." She stammered. Fred and Riley stared at each other for a moment, without saying anything.

"Sorry, are we being too loud?" George was the one who asked. Riley looked at him.

"Huh, yeah a little." She gave him a small smile. "Could you please talk more quietly?"

"Sure." He answered. Riley glanced at Fred, who hadn't said a thing. Then, she turned around to leave. A few seconds after she sat back down at her table, Fred appeared next to her and sat down in front of her. Riley looked at him surprised and the frowned slightly.

"Yes?" She asked, before starting to read her book again.

"I just want to talk." He said, shyly. Riley looked up from her book and stared at his eyes.

"What about?"

"Well, I want to apologize to you."

Riley kept on staring at him, not knowing what to say. Apologize to what? Not coming to visit her in the Hospital wing? Acting like a jerk? "Okay." She simply said.

"I mean it. I was just… mad."

"Mad?" She raised an eyebrow. "Because I made the team?"

"No! Not that. I mean, I'm glad you made the team, but well, you never said thank you."

"Thank you?" She repeated, almost laughing.

"Well yeah, it's kind of because of us if Montague was unable to play!"

Riley narrowed her eyes and then nodded. "Thank you." She said, sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm trying to apologize here! Why are you being so difficult?"

"Well, let's see." Riley put her hand on her chin as if she was trying to think. "It didn't matter to you that I almost died, you were too _mad_ at me to come to visit and ensure that I was okay." She looked straight at his eyes, defiantly.

"What? I did come to visit you! But then your precious friends told me that I shouldn't be there and that you didn't want to see me!" He said, almost desperate.

"And you believed them?" She asked, stunned.

"Well, I don't know…"

"You didn't think that you should have talked to me before cutting me out of your life?"

Fred sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. But like I said, I was mad." He stared at her and Riley could almost see the pain in his eyes. "It's just hard you know, being friends with a Slytherin."

Riley felt her heart heavier. "Well, maybe we shouldn't be friends then!"

"No that's not what I want. I-" Before he could continue, Riley raised her hand cutting him off.

"Look Fred. I understand that's difficult, but the truth is that you're never going to like my friends and I'm never going to like yours. And I know that it's a silly reason to stop being friends with someone, but there's too much rivalry between the two houses and in the end, we're both going to take their sides."

Fred lowered his gaze. "So, that's it? We're agreeing on not being friends anymore."

Riley looked at him sad. It pained her to say that, but it was too complicated. "Well we're not enemies, we can still say hello to each other and be nice to each other, but… yeah that's it."

Fred nodded and then got up from his seat, still avoiding to look at her. Riley watched him leave and for a second she wasn't sure if it was the best idea, but then she remembered what Flint had said to her and sighed. Gryffindors and Slytherins couldn't be friends.

* * *

When Christmas break arrived, Riley was staying at Hogwarts since Remus and Lyall were out of the country. Everyone she knew was going back home, everyone except for Marcus Flint. Therefore, they both ate together and spent an amount of time together as well. Sometimes Flint would disappear for a couple of hours, but Riley didn't mind, she liked spending some time alone.

When they were together, not even once, Marcus had mentioned Melinda. Which was weird because when Melinda got back from Hogsmead, she was extremely happy, saying that it went very well and that after Christmas they were going on another date together. So, one evening when they were having dinner in the Great Hall, Riley decided to ask him about it.

"So, how was your date with Melinda?" She asked, trying to sound casual.

Marcus who was reading the sport section of the Daily Prophet, just shrugged. "Fine."

"She told me it went very well, that you're going on a second date too."

"Yeah." He said, not taking his eyes from the paper.

Riley nodded. "That's good."

"Sure."

"Chatty boy." She mumbled to herself, but Flint didn't seem to have heard her. At first she didn't really care if it was going to work between Melinda and him, but now she was starting to think that maybe Melinda would come to appreciate her and stop being mean to her, after all she was the one who was responsible for Melinda's happiness. She liked that idea.

The next day, Riley had lunch alone. She didn't know where Flint was. After, she decided to go flying for a little bit. It had finally stopped snowing, so the weather was perfect for a winter day. She grabbed her Nimbus 2000 and went to the Quidditch Pitch.

She flew for almost an hour before it started snowing again. She decided to go to the Slytherin locker room and wait, she was really enjoying being there and didn't want to stop flying.

When she got there, she heard weird noises and some girl giggling. Frowning, she stepped forward to see who it was and stopped abruptly. Marcus Flint was there, shirtless, snogging some Ravenclaw girl.

Riley closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh boy."


End file.
